The 14-game losing streak is over.
Idaho men’s basketball defeated the Sacramento State Hornets 94-90 Saturday night to come up with its first win since Jan. 3rd and second conference win of the season.
The Vandals jumped out to an early 5-0 lead over the Hornets and held the lead for most of the first half.
Despite the struggles shooting in the half, junior guard Trevon Allen led the Vandals with 17 points in the first half to give Idaho a 37-36 lead going into the break.
Sophomore guard Xavier Smith dribbles the ball down the court against Sacramento State on Saturday in Cowan Spectrum.
The second half became a shootout between both squads with the Vandals looking unstoppable on the offensive side of the court. Idaho finished the second half shooting 75 percent from the field and finished the game shooting nearly 56 percent.
After scoring only two points in the first half, freshman guard Cameron Tyson caught fire in the second to score 15 points on five made 3-pointers to make him the all-time freshman leader in made 3-pointers in Big Sky basketball history.
“I think we came together as a team and asked ourselves after the Southern Utah game what we want our destiny to be… and it finally turned into a win tonight,” Tyson said.
Four Idaho scorers finished in double figures again for the Vandals with Allen leading the way to finish with 29 points. This is the first time Idaho has scored more than 80 points since December and the first time breaking the 90-point mark since Nov. 27.
Five Takeaways from Saturday’s action
- Idaho finally found a way to pull out with a win. Sacramento State only held the lead for 30 seconds the entire game and despite their late game run the Vandals showed composure at the end with huge free throws to put the game away. Allen said this win was for Nate Sherwood and it is fitting that this is the night where all the pieces finally came together for this Idaho program.
- The Vandals can shoot the basketball again and control what they want to do on offense. Idaho scored over 90 points for the first time since November and had four scorers in double figures. The depth that this team has is finally paying off with everyone starting to click at the right time.
- Tyson is undoubtedly the future of this program. He broke the all-time Big Sky record in made 3-pointers by a freshman and something tells me this isn’t going to be the first broken record. Once again there is optimism and hope amongst the team and the fans with only a few games left to see how much momentum Idaho can carry into next season.
- The young Vandals grew up quickly Saturday, learning to overcome adversity in the final minutes of the game. After holding an eight point lead in the final minute, back to back 3-pointers brought the Hornets within two points. Freshmen Losini Kamara and Xavier Smith came up with clutch free throws in the final minutes to seal the Idaho win. The Vandals finished 20-21 at the line which might be one of their best performances at the line this season.
- This may be the best played game by the Vandals all season. With freshman forward Cassius Smits-Francisco out with an injury, Idaho put the pressure on the Hornets and locked down Sacramento State’s interior threats despite the lack of depth in the frontcourt. With Francisco and freshman Geno West battling injuries in the final weeks it will be interesting to see how the Vandals can keep competing going into a tough game against Weber State on the road.
Idaho will travel to take on Weber State 6 p.m. Mar. 7.
Chris Deremer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @chris_DEREMER