In a chippy Saturday night contest, the Idaho men’s basketball team fell 73-67 to Cal State Bakersfield in Memorial Gym.
The night began with all the momentum on the Vandals’ side, with Idaho jumping out to a 5-0 lead. However, the Roadrunners got right back into the swing of things, led by forward James Suber.
“Overall, we really came out aggressive,” senior guard Trevon Allen said. “I think we came out and threw that first punch and then in the end we were just low on bodies.”
The animosity between the two teams, who have met five times in the last three years, reached a peak when CSUB’s forward Taze Moore of Bakersfield and Idaho’s freshman forward Jared Rodriguez were involved in an altercation following a Roadrunner basket.
The pair were caught exchanging shoves by the refs, who called a timeout on the floor to deliberate. After the break, both Rodriguez and Moore were ejected from the game.
“That kind of limited us there in the end,” Allen said. “Losing him was tough.”
Following the slow start and on-court drama, Bakersfield jumped to a 32-29 lead, helped by six offensive rebounds compared to Idaho’s three. The Roadrunners finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. Suber dominated the board-game, notching six offensive rebounds and seven defensive rebounds. The Bakersfield standout also led his team in scoring with 20 points. Allen led the Vandals with 15.
The full-court press from Bakersfield paid off, as turnovers made all the difference by the time the final buzzer sounded, with the Vandals coughing up the ball 14 times, compared to five turnovers from the Roadrunners.
Bakersfield scored 20 points off those turnovers. The Vandals, meanwhile, managed just a single point.
From the arc, Idaho freshman guard Cameron Tyson continued to impress, taking the most 3-point shots of the team with 15. Tyson made just four of those, as Allen led the 3-point effort with six treys.
“The killed us off the offensive glass there in the second half,” Idaho Head Coach Don Verlin said. “It’s always been a man’s game when you play Bakersfield. We knew that, and it’s been physical every time we play them.”
Idaho (3-6) will debut in the Cowan Spectrum against Nebraska-Omaha 3 p.m. Dec. 15.
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @brandonmtnhill