Christmas is the season of giving.
Idaho was in a giving mood Friday night, taking advantage of 39 team assists to propel the Vandals to a 127-54 victory over New Hope Christian College.
The 127 points scored by Idaho marks the highest-scoring game in program history.
“That’s one thing about this team, I have a lot of guys that work hard in practice and it was good to get those guys some minutes,” said Idaho head coach Don Verlin.
Idaho (7-5) began the game on a 20-0 run to take immediate control of the matchup.
Senior forward Carlos McLeod hit a pair of free throws to put New Hope (3-13) on the scoreboard midway through the first half.
Sophomore forward Skyler White led the way for Idaho in the first twenty minutes of the game, scoring nine points and collecting ten rebounds for the Vandals. Sophomore guard Chad Sherwood added another nine points for Idaho.
The Vandals capitalized on a poor shooting performance by New Hope, as the Deacons attempted 27 three-pointers in the first half, converting just four of those shots.
New Hope shot just 17.6 percent in the first twenty minutes of the game, going 6-34 from the field. Senior forward Carlos McLeod led the Deacons in scoring in the first half with six points.
The Vandals entered the break with a 61-20 lead, as the team won the rebound battle 39-12.
As a result of the 41-point lead, all 14 active members of the Vandals roster saw time on the court in the second half.
“I thought Jake (Straughan) came in and played well, I thought Chad (Sherwood) came in and played well,” Verlin said. “Nick (Blair) was active around the glass and so was Skyler (White).”
Redshirt freshman guard Jake Straughan provided an explosive performance for the Vandals in the second half, shooting 7-8 from behind the arc in his final eight shots of the game. Straughan finished the game with a career-high 24 points to lead all scorers.
Sherwood also provided an offensive spark with 18 points, while White recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
A total of seven Vandal players left the arena with ten or more points, including sophomore guard Victor Sanders and senior forward Nahshon George.
The Vandals next game is scheduled on the road against UC Davis on Dec. 22 at 7 p.m.
Josh Grissom can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @GoshJrissom