LCSC gave Idaho all it could handle in last exhibition game
Mike Scott wanted a new look for his senior season. So, when the senior point guard from Los Angeles went home during the summer, he decided a haircut was the best solution.
“I actually regret it,” said Scott, who sported an afro last season. “I thought since it’s my senior year I could go out with a new look and just be a new person and have a better year than last year. But at the end of the day, I just want my hair back.”
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Arkadiy Mkrtychyan blocking the Warrior’s attempt to score during Friday’s game.
While he might not like it, Scott and his new haircut looked impressive in the Vandals’ final exhibition game against Lewis-Clark State Friday night.
Scott filled up the stat sheet with 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block in Idaho’s 75-57 win over the Lewis-Clark State Warriors.
The game was Idaho’s last exhibition game before it enters regular season play against Eastern Oregon 7 p.m. Friday in Memorial Gym.
Idaho coach Don Verlin said Scott had a great fall camp and he expects big things this season from of his senior leader.
“Mike is our leader,” Verlin said. “He’s got to be a guy that brings it every night … He’s playing good basketball right now, but I expect him to play good.”
The win didn’t come easy, as LCSC led for most of the first half. In the final seconds of the first half, senior shooting guard Connor Hill hit a 3-pointer that gave Idaho its first lead since two minutes into the game.
The Vandals took a 32-29 lead into halftime and never trailed for the rest of the night.
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Perrrion Callandret dribbling during Friday’s game against the LCSC Warriors.
“I think we’re young, and we looked like it there for about 15 minutes in the first half,” Verlin said. “I thought we kind of settled in a little bit in the second half and played with a lot more intensity. Overall, I’d give it about a C if I was giving it a letter grade.”
LCSC started its regular season in the middle of October, and has yet to lose a game. The Warriors were 4-0 before playing the Vandals, with 36 points as their lowest margin of victory.
“It was great, I really appreciate Idaho letting us come up here and play them,” LCSC coach Brandon Rinta said. “It’s good for our student body. They jump in the bus and come up and it’s a close game against really good competition.”
The pace of the game was completely different from Idaho’s first exhibition game against Simon Fraser — a game in which the Vandals scored 139 points.
Sophomore guard Perrion Callandret turned the ball over six times in Idaho’s first exhibition game. He said the coaches sat him down and told him he needs to take better care of the ball if he wants to play the point guard position.
“I felt a lot better than last week,” Callandret said. “I came off a rocky season last year, so it was nice just getting back into the groove … I just felt more comfortable out there today.”
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Bira Seck in action during the victory against the LCSC Warriors 75-57 Friday Night.
Verlin said Idaho’s style of play is different than what Callandret played at Bothell High School in Washington. He said Callandret worked hard in the offseason and he expects him to have a great year.
“I thought Perrion Callandret played a really nice game tonight,” Verlin said. “His floor game, I thought he was under control. I thought he got us in the places we needed to get to, as far as running our offense … He’s a year older, a year more mature.”
Korbin McDonald can be reached at [email protected]