SUZHOU, China – Idaho closed out group play at the Atlas Challenge on Thursday, falling to Macedonia 69-67. The Vandals finish the opening round 1-2.
Macedonia brought an American-heavy roster featuring four athletes that played college ball in the states. All four played 23-plus minutes and contributed 53 of Macedonia's 69 points.
Three games in three days proved to be a very difficult challenge for the Vandals. Idaho led for the majority of the game on Thursday but could not hold on. The Vandals led late, 67-59, but Macedonia responded to close out the game on a 10-0 run and claim the win.
Victor Sanders was the high scorer for the Vandals again, finishing with 11 points. Nick Blair had a solid game off the bench, scoring nine points and leading the team with nine boards and three assists.
Idaho continues to get used to the changes in the game, playing under the FIBA rules structure. The Vandals shot 27.2 percent (6-of-22) from the new 3-point range and 32.1 percent (25-of-78) from the field. Idaho did win the battle of the boards on Thursday, outrebounding Macedonia 42-32.
The Vandals got solid minutes off the bench from Ty Egbert and Tyler Brimhall. Egbert scored 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while Brimhall added five points and five boards in 13 minutes.
Xavier Thames led the way for Macedonia with 23 points. The 2014 Mountain West Player of the Year shot 8-of-13 (61.5%) from the floor and 4-of-7 (57.1%) from beyond the arc. Twymond Howard, an All-OVC First Team selection last season, finished with 15 points, while Honorable Mention All-Big 12 guard Jeff Newberry had eight points and three assists. Former Central Washington star Giovanne Woods added seven points and four rebounds.
The Vandals will likely move to the losers' bracket where they will take on the third and fourth ranked teams from Group A. The next game will take place on Saturday, check back with GoVandals.com following for the complete recap.
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho men's basketball by following the team on twitter, @VandalHoops.
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