Vandals hit 17 3-pointers in 82-52 win over Western Michigan

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Victor Sanders scored 25 points with six 3-pointers, Brayon Blake scored 19 points with a career-high five 3-pointers, and Idaho hit 17 3s to beat Western Michigan 82-52 on Monday night.

It’s the most 3s ever made by the Vandals since 2008-09, when Don Verlin became coach. The Vandals have won five of six.

Sanders scored his 1,435th career point, surpassing Kyle Barone for sixth all-time at Idaho.

“We played extremely well, and obviously we shot the ball very well,” said Verlin. “But I start with Perrion Callandret. I was on Perrior and Trevon (Allen) for the last two days for the job that they had to do on their best player, (Thomas) Wilder. He’s a guy who will probably play nithe NBA and I though Perrion especially, and Trevon as well, was just terrific against him.

“I though that was a huge key early in the game and allowed us to get off to a great start. I thought we were able to sustain that defensive intensity throughout.”

Seven of Idaho’s first eight shots in the second half were 3-pointers, with Sanders hitting three, and the Vandals led 54-26 with 13:20 to play, but went scoreless for three minutes later in the half.

Jordan Scott scored 10 points and tied his career best with 13 rebounds for his first career double-double for Idaho (8-3). The Vandals outrebounded the Broncos 45-29, and made 17 of 30 (57 percent) from beyond the arc. Chad Sherwood hit a career-high three 3s. Blake set a Vandals record for most 3s in a game without a miss.

“The next guy that jumps out to me is Jordan Scott,” noted Verlin. “I challenged our guys, rebounding-wise. We talked about rebounding in the pregame and Jordan gets five offensive rebounds and Brayon Blake gets four offensive rebounds. We needed those extra possessions tonight and those two guys helped us do that.”

Arkadiy Mkrtychyan’s layup put the Vandals up for good, 4-2, and Idaho finished on an 11-2 run in which Sanders hit two 3s for a 31-16 halftime lead. It was the first time the Vandals held an opponent under 20 points for a half since doing it in a win over San Jose State to open the 2015-16 season.

Bryce Moore scored 11 for Western Michigan (6-5), which shot 34 percent from the floor.