The Idaho men’s basketball team travelled to Brookings for a rematch against South Dakota State Saturday. The Vandals fell to the Jackrabbits 80-77 and extended South Dakota’s home victory streak to 33—the second longest running streak in the country.
Idaho head coach Don Verlin said defensive errors could have been the deciding factor.
“”We made too many errors on defense,” Idaho head coach Don Verlin said in a news release. “I talked in the pregame, we have to rely on our defense tonight.”
Verlin said fouls contributed to the loss.
“When you look at the stats at the end of the night, they shoot 48 percent and 36 percent and we fouled them way too much,” Verlin said. “They took 26 free throws tonight and made 25 of them. That’s the difference in the basketball game tonight.”
Idaho finished the night shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from beyond the arc. Sophomore power forward Nate Sherwood and freshman guard Trevon Allen finished the night in double-figures, earning 13 and 11 points respectively.
Junior Victor Sanders led the team with 17 points and a career-high nine assists.
As a team, the Vandals outrebounded the Jackrabbits 34-26 and led the floor in turnovers 12-9.
“I was proud of my guys that kept fighting, and kept battling,” Verlin said. “Quite honestly, Tyler Brimhall and Jake Straughan came in and made some shots and got us going. Those guys came in, made some shots, and it was contagious.”
The Vandals take on Northwest Nazarene University 5 p.m. Dec. 17 in the Memorial Gym as part of a double header with the Idaho women’s basketball team.
The women play Central Washington 3 p.m. Dec. 17 in the Memorial Gym.
Mihaela Karst can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @mihaela_jo