Clutch win for Vandals over South Dakota State
Idaho trailed by one-point as the clock ticked under one-minute left to play. Perrion Callandret received the ball beyond the arc with space to shoot, and the sophomore guard showed no hesitation, pulled the trigger and made the basket.
Freshman forward Arkadiy Mkrtychyan shoots a floater during Idaho’s 82-77 win over South Dakota State Monday in Memorial Gym. The Vandals improved to 2-0 on the season with the win.
The 3-pointer gave Idaho momentum to carry it to an 82-77 win over South Dakota State.
“He was wide open,” Idaho coach Don Verlin said of Callandret’s shot. “Step up and knock it down, and that’s what he did tonight. I was proud of Perrion for doing it.”
Callandret said he knew the ball was coming his way the whole time.
“I didn’t really think about if we were down or not, and just shot it and it went in,” Callandret said. “We won the game after that.”
Callandret finished the game with seven points and two assists. He said his confidence is a lot better since he came here last year.
“He (Verlin) had the confidence putting me in at the end of the game, confidence letting me hit the big shot — it helps you go along,” Callandret said.
Mike Scott was also not to be outdone. The senior point guard nailed a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the game and the shot clock out of time. The bucket gave Idaho the cushion it needed to win the game.
Jose Bendeck | Argonaut
Sekou Wiggs in action against SDSU at the Memorial Gym.
Scott said he thought there was more time on the shot clock. He said he didn’t realize how much time was left until his team yelled at him.
“I was happy it went in,” Scott said. “I have confidence in myself that it was going in, but I knew it was big shot and we needed it, so I was relived that it went in.”
Scott led the team with 23 points, four assists and four rebounds, but said it was Callandret’s shot that gave him the confidence to hit his clutch 3-pointer.
“I jumped on him in the locker room,” Scott said of the team celebrating Callandret’s shot. “I was so happy about my shot, but it was his shot that really got us going. It lifted me up when he hit his shot.”
Idaho led the majority of the first half, but South Dakota State made a surge in the second half. SDSU took its first lead since the score was 5-4 three minutes into the game. But with nine minutes left, SDSU retook the lead 58-56 — and the two teams exchanged baskets from there on out.
“I thought it was a hard fought physical game,” Verlin said. “It’s what you expect when you play coach Naggy’s team.”
Korbin McDonald can be reached at [email protected]