Three players scored more than 15 points, true freshman Connor Hill lit it up from 3-point range and Vandal men’s basketball sent a roundhouse punch to UC Davis Saturday, defeating the Aggies 94-74 in California.
It was a much-needed win for coach Don Verlin’s team, which now prepares for potentially its toughest match-up of the 2011-2012 campaign, a home game against Pac-12 opponent Washington State Wednesday evening.
Saturday though, belonged to the Vandals who picked up their first road win of the season against a Division I opponent.
Verlin applauded the performance he witnessed from his team Saturday.
“I thought our team energy, our team effort was good and it was a good bounce back win for the Vandals,” he said. “I had some lineups out there that I haven’t had out there before and I thought some guys stepped in there and played very well … I thought we did a very nice job passing the ball and I hope that continues.”
Idaho set the tone early and a breakout half from Deremy Geiger saw the senior point guard hit three of four from beyond the arc, helping the Vandals to a 43-30 lead at halftime.
Despite a well-rounded effort from the Vandals, the 2011 Idaho 5A Player of the Year took over with 14 minutes remaining in the second half. Hill, who was originally supposed to redshirt his freshman season, knocked down his first 3-point attempt and then his next four, setting him at a career-high 17 points. The Post Falls native was 5-6 from 3-point range and 6-8 from the field in just 12 minutes of play.
“He did what we brought him off of redshirt to do and heck of a performance in the second half by him,” Verlin said.
Despite a surprise performance from the true freshman, sophomore forward Stephen Madison was the unanimous offensive and defensive MVP for the Vandals.
Madison led the squad with 19 points and came up big on the boards, grabbing a game-high eight rebounds.
Idaho’s biggest lead stood at 22 points and came early in the second half when the Vandals went on an 11-0 run, six of those points coming from junior college transfer Dazmond Starke, who came off the bench to add nine points and six rebounds.
And that’s just the kind of day it was for an Idaho team that received 34 points from four bench players.
Center Kyle Barone contributed 15 points, four rebounds and three steals, and talked about the importance of the newcomers familiarizing themselves with their roles.
“These guys stepping up, now they know what they can do out there and they can give us a lift off the bench when we need it,” Barone said.
UC Davis was led by Eddie Miller, whose 22 points led all scorers. Miller came off the bench, was 4-4 from 3-point land and 6-6 from the free throw line. Washington State comes to Moscow with a 4-4 record and consecutive wins against Grambling State and an Eastern Washington team that beat Idaho last Wednesday.
The Cougars, who graduated Pac-12 standout Klay Thompson last term, are led by senior guard Faisal Aden who averages 16.3 points-per-game.
“Vandal fans, students come out it’s going to be a great atmosphere. I thank Washington State for playing this game, a lot of teams won’t do a home and home,” Verlin said. “The rivalry;s gone on a long time. We’ve played over there two consecutive years in a row… I know our guys are going to be extremely excited to play, same with Washington State and it’s going to be a heck of a rivalry game.”
Tipoff is at 7:05 p.m. in the Cowan Spectrum and students will be able to enter the arena at 5:30, a half hour before the general public.