Theo Lawson/Argonaut
The Vandal men’s basketball team held on for 36 minutes but the preseason Big West favorites Long Beach State had too much horsepower, slipping away late with a 69-61 win Saturday in the Walter Pyramid.
Consecutive 49er turnovers immediately before halftime allowed the Vandals a 29-27 lead after but a second half that saw the lead change five times ended up in favor of the hosts — who pleased 4,348 fans on Homecoming.
Down by seven points late in the first half, Idaho went on a 10-1 run to end the half. During the run, Long Beach State was 0-5 from the field but Idaho’s persistency ran out in the second half.
“We played hard enough to win tonight,” Idaho head coach Don Verlin said. “I was very disappointed in our execution down the stretch. We just didn’t make the plays that we needed to down the stretch.”
Idaho’s final lead came with 8:15 remaining in the second half, following a Stephen Madison three-pointer. The 49ers’ Eugene Phelps responded with a dunk and though the Vandals would tie it up once more, regaining the lead wasn’t in the forecast for Idaho.
Junior center Kyle Barone tied it up at 53 a piece at the 7:34 mark but reigning Big West Player of the Year Casper Ware gave the 49ers a three-point lead and Mansa Habeeb’s jumper was blocked at the other end, which would lead to a breakaway and James Ennis dunk.
“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,” Verlin said.
The Vandals were victim to 16 turnovers, 10 of those coming in the second half. Long Beach turned the ball over 10 times.
Madison helped the Vandals to a 6-1 run, which closed the gap to two points, but Phelps turned in a jumper and Ware knocked down another from beyond the arc, giving Long Beach a decisive 66-59 lead.
“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.”
Djim Bandoumel came off the bench to contribute 13 points and four rebounds while point guard Deremy Geiger added 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. Barone led the Vandals in rebounds with nine, but finished with just 11 points and turned the ball over twice.
Idaho had no answer for Ware, who went off for 20 points, four assists and three rebounds. 49er guard Larry Anderson followed with 16 points and seven assists, while forward T.J. Robinson was the game’s leading rebounder with 11.
The Vandal bench, led by Bandoumel, contributed 22 points.
“I thought they did a great job,” Verlin said. “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.”