The University of Idaho Argonaut

Idaho loses to Hawai’i in front of largest home crowd of the season

The Cowan Spectrum was as full as it has been all season on Saturday night as the University of Idaho’s men’s basketball team (5-14, 2-6) fell 58-53 to Hawai’i (8-11, 4-3).
The official total attendance was 1,518 people.

Overall, the game was close. There were six lead changes, six ties and there was never a point difference greater than eight. At halftime the score was 24-24, but Idaho coach George Pfeifer was not happy with his team’s performance.
“I told our team at halftime, ‘this is not our best basketball. We have not performed at a level that we’re capable of performing at,’” Pfeifer said. “When you’re in (the locker room) talking about energy, that is a bad thing.”

Idaho guard Mike Hall, who racked up 29 points and set a school record for three-point shots in the team’s previous game against San Jose State, was limited to just 12 points by a tight Hawai’i defense. Hall scored 10 of those 12 points in the first half.
“We knew that (Hall) had a great night against San Jose, so we had to pay a little more attention to him,” Hawai’i coach Bob Nash said. “Our defense did a great job of getting out and forcing him a little bit deeper than he would normally like to shoot it.”
Idaho’s 39.1 percent on field goals and 18.8 percent on three’s were a far cry from Thursday night’s 53.3 percent and 52.4 percent, a fact that Pfeifer blamed on lethargy.

“We were very lethargic tonight and when you’re not moving and you’re not playing with crispness, you don’t shoot the ball well,” Pfeifer said.

With three minutes left to play in the second half, the score was tied at 48-48, but the Vandals couldn’t manage any more points from the floor. From the three minute mark, Idaho missed all of their attempted field goals, scoring their last five points solely on free throws.

“They just weren’t dropping for us,” Idaho forward Clyde Johnson said.
Jordan Brooks lead all scorers with 17 points. Brooks also added to Idaho’s offense with six assists and three steals.
Idaho’s home record is now 5-5.

This week Idaho is gearing up for a rivalry game in Boise against the Boise State Broncos. The Broncos are 8-2 in their last ten games and 14-5, 7-3 on the season. The last time the teams met was Jan. 5 in Moscow, which resulted in a 84-95 loss for Idaho. The game will be at 6 p.m. PST on Saturday, in the Taco Bell Arena.