MOSCOW, Idaho - The Idaho men's basketball team struggled from the beginning and couldn't match Long Beach State on Saturday, as the Vandals lost to a non-conference opponent at home for the first time this year by a 77-66 margin at the Cowan Spectrum.
"They out-hustled us, they out-physicaled us - they beat us in every aspect of the game," Idaho head coach Don Verlin said. "We had good scouting reports on them, we had the team ready play, but for some reason we didn't hook up and play with the energy and passion that we needed to in this game."
Idaho (13-13, 4-8 Western Athletic Conference) fell behind 9-2 to start the game, then came back to take a 16-14 lead at the 9:11 mark of the first half, but Long Beach State (13-14, 6-7 Big West) outscored the Vandals 21-5 over the remainder of the period and never looked back.
The 49ers stretched their lead to as many as 17 points in the second half before Idaho fought back into it. The Vandals were only able to cut the lead down to eight points on two occasions in the closing minutes, and each time, LBSU answered with scores of its own.
Idaho senior Marvin Jefferson had a career game with 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, along with two assists, one steal and one block, for his first double-double of the season and second of his career.
The Vandal defense was unable to slow down LBSU's T.J. Robinson, who hit 11 of his 17 shots for 2 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, dished three assists, and had three steals. Casper Ware added 20 points for the 49ers, most of which came late in the game as his 10-of-10 performance at the free throw line stifled Idaho's late comeback attempts.
"This game is an interesting game," Verlin said. "If you don't play hard, you'll get your tail kicked, no matter who you're playing, and tonight we didn't play hard enough."
Idaho out-rebounded LBSU 36-34, out-scored the 49ers 40-36 in the paint and had 15 second-chance points, but committed 16 turnovers, which translated into 21 points for Long Beach State. The 49ers also hit 46.4 percent of their shots, including 50 percent in the second half.
"We turned the ball over for layups - 21 points off turnovers," Verlin said. "That's the difference in the game."
Idaho shot 40.7 percent from the field, but went just 3-of-18 from 3-point range. Jefferson and sophomore Luiz Toledo hit 10 of their 11 combined attempts, but the rest of the team went just 14-of-48 (.292) from the field.
After the quick break from conference play, the Vandals will get back onto the WAC trail with a pair of difficult road tests next week. Idaho plays at New Mexico State on Wednesday before heading to Louisiana Tech for a Saturday matchup.
