Shooting woes plagued the Idaho men’s basketball team in a 63-49 nonconference loss to Northern Illinois Wednesday in DeKalb.
The Vandals went 41 percent at the free throw line and missed 22 shots from the perimeter.
“The bottom line tonight, we didn’t shoot the ball well,” Idaho head coach Don Verlin said in a news release.
The Vandals (1-1) had difficulty connecting on shots early in the matchup, going 1-of-8 from the field to start the game. But Idaho tied the score at 5-5 during a five-minute dry spell for Northern Illinois.
After missing nine straight shots from the perimeter, the Vandals took their first lead of the game on a 3-pointer from junior guard Victor Sanders with two minutes left in the half.
Despite a three-quarter court press from the Idaho defense, Northern Illinois tied the game 21-21 before the break.
Sanders led the first half effort for the Vandals with eight points. Junior small forward Jordan Scott collected six rebounds.
Both teams shot 2-of-20 from behind the arc in the first period.
“I thought we played well in the first half, I thought we did a great job of getting back in transition, we did a great job of rebounding the basketball,” Verlin said. “We executed those two points of our game plan all night long.”
Northern Illinois guard Laytwan Porter gave the Huskies a 35-27 lead, using a pair of 3-pointers. Several minutes later, Sanders and sophomore power forward Nate Sherwood fouled out.
“What got them the lead was a couple of defensive errors that led to a couple of 3-point shots,” Verlin said. “And then we fouled them too much.”
Junior forward Brayon Blake made a putback dunk and deep 3-pointer late in the halfto no avail. Husky forward Levi Bradley contributed 10 points in the win.
“Levi can score from just about anywhere on the floor” Northern Illinois head coach Mark Montgomery said. “We finally got the ball in the middle of their zone (defense).”
Blake and Sanders combined for 31 points in the loss. Scott finished with eight boards.
Porter, Bradley and center Marin Maric all ended the game in double figures for Northern Illinois.
“I don’t think either team shot their best tonight,” Montgomery said. “There were a lot of fouls called. We have a lot to work on, but I’m happy that we found a way to win the game.”
Josh Grissom can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @GoshJrissom