Vandals battle at LBSU

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Idaho men's basketball entered Saturday's season-opener as 13-point road underdogs in front of a packed house at the Walter Pyramid, but the young Vandals battled for 40 minutes in a 69-61 loss to Long Beach State.

“We played hard enough to win tonight,” Idaho head coach Don Verlin said after the game. “I was very disappointed in our execution down the stretch. We just didn't make the plays that we needed to down the stretch.

“We've got to play that hard every night, but we've got to clear up some of those executional things, or it's going to be a long year.”

Idaho (0-1) fought from the opening gun in a game that featured eight lead changes and 13 ties. The game was played in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 4,348 for a Long Beach State (1-0) team that received votes in both major pre-season polls and was also celebrating Homecoming Week.

The only significant first-half lead came by virtue of a 9-2 Long Beach State (1-0) run that gave the 49ers a 26-19 lead at the 6:31 mark of the first half, but as was the trend all day, the Vandals battled back. After going down by seven points, the Vandals outscored LBSU 10-1 to finish out the half up by a 29-27 margin.

The turning point of the game came with just under seven minutes to go in the second half. After a Kyle Barone free throw tied the game at 53-53, the Vandals let Big West Player of the Year Casper Ware slip free for a corner 3-pointer, then gave up a dunk on the ensuing possession. A turnover on the next Idaho possession led to a Ware jumper and just like that, the Vandals were down, 60-53, with 5:38 left in the game.

The Vandals managed to scrap back within two points at 61-59 with 4:06 remaining, but gave up another 3-ball to Ware, a pair of short jumpers and wasn't able to convert on the offensive end in the closing minutes.

“We did a lot of good things, but our concentration on a few key items has to get better,” Verlin said. “I thought we did a lot of really good things, but I was disappointed that we didn't execute with the game on the line.”

Idaho shot 23-of-48 (.479) overall from the field and an impressive 5-of-9 (.556) from 3-point range, but hit just 10 of its 16 free throw attempts and turned the ball over 16 times to give LBSU 18 points off turnovers. The 49ers went 26-of-60 (.433) overall and 6-of-20 (.300) from 3-point range, and added 11 points on 17 free throw attempts.

A pair of seniors led Idaho in scoring, as guard Deremy Geiger put in 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, while forward Djim Bandoumel came off the bench and hit 5-of-6 from the floor, 3-of-3 from the free throw line for 13 points and added four rebounds. Junior center Kyle Barone was Idaho's other double-digit scorer with an 11-point, nine-rebound, two-assist, two-steal day.

LBSU's Ware led all players with 20 points, while fellow guard Larry Anderson went 4-of-4 from the field, 3-for-3 from long range, and added 16 points, with seven assists for the 49ers. Forward T.J. Robinson registered a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The 49ers held a 34-24 scoring advantage in the paint and an 18-8 edge off turnovers. Second-chance points were 15-14 in LBSU's favor, as were fast-break points at 8-2. Idaho's bench proved to be a big factor, as the Vandal non-starters outscored LBSU's bench, 22-6.

“I thought they did a great job,” Verlin said of the bench. “Djim Bandoumel gave us a great lift – I thought he made a lot of big plays. Matt Borton came in in the second half and gave us a huge lift. He made a couple baskets and had a couple assists, and I thought he played very well.”

Idaho returns home for its next contest, as the Vandals take on Concordia at Memorial Gym on Monday at 7:05 p.m. (PDT). After that, the Vandals will face a second tough road test when they visit Missoula to face Montana on Thursday, Nov. 17, at 6 p.m. (PDT)

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