Idaho caps demoralizing week

MOSCOW, Idaho – When turnovers easily outnumber made field goals, it’s not a good sign for an offense.

When the opponent, which led the nation in 3-point shooting a year ago, makes 2 of 18 3-pointers but it hardly matters, it’s not a good sign for a defense.

The Idaho Vandals started quickly but faded quicker and didn’t put up much resistance in a 72-50 non-conference men’s basketball loss to Southern Utah in front of an announced crowd of 917 Saturday at the Cowan Spectrum.

Idaho dropped to 1-6, all but one of those losses by double digits. Southern Utah improved to 6-2, two of those wins coming against the Vandals in the last 10 days.

The loss put a cap on a tough week for Idaho, which lost to Gonzaga by 25 Sunday and to Washington by 21 Wednesday, then had to endure 90 minutes in freezing temperatures when the team bus broke down outside of North Bend.

“We’re not very clever and we’re not tough,” Idaho coach George Pfeifer said. “I thought, based on what I saw at Gonzaga and Washington, that we showed some tenacity and toughness, but I was obviously fooled.”

The Vandals led 5-0 in the first minute and trailed just 27-26 late in the first half. Southern Utah’s Swaney Cooper scored inside and added a transition layup just before the buzzer after an ill-advised 3-point attempt by the Vandals.

Southern Utah swiftly built on its 31-26 halftime lead as the Vandals self-destructed throughout the second half. The margin reached 24 with 5 minutes remaining.

“It started at about the 15-minute mark,” Pfeifer said. “It has to do with our toughness. If somebody takes something away from us offensively, we deviate and put our head down and take a bad shot.”

Pfeifer vowed to look at lineup changes after watching Idaho commit 24 turnovers. In the second half, the Vandals only attempted 16 shots.

“I’m not going to sit here and continue to float our boat in the same direction,” Pfeifer said. “Obviously, that’s not working.”

Among numerous indiscretions, Idaho had a 5-minute, 30-second span when it attempted just two shots, committed three fouls (including the first of two technicals) and had six turnovers. Four of those came on consecutive possessions and Southern Utah capitalized with points at the other end.

“We have lapses at times,” said Vandals senior guard Keoni Watson, who scored a team-high 13 points. “To beat a good team like that, you can’t have those. We go 10 minutes hard and they score a couple of buckets and we just go downhill for some reason. I have no idea why we do that.”

Watson also said he had no idea why he was hit with a technical foul with 3:31 remaining.

“The ref said I said something,” Watson said, “but both my coaches were right next to me and (they) said I didn’t say anything.”

Southern Utah didn’t need its customary 3-point accuracy because it found plenty of open looks from 15 feet and in. Deep into the second half, the Thunderbirds were shooting 53 percent from the floor.

“We played pretty well in the second half,” Southern Utah coach Bill Evans said. “We only turned the ball over four times. We got some easy baskets. I think we were pretty patient and I liked the way we controlled the clock when we got the lead.”

The Vandals visit Idaho State on Wednesday.

So. Utah 72, Idaho 50

Southern Utah (6-2)—Griego 0-3 0-0 0, Adepoju 2-6 2-2 6, Barnes 7-14 4-4 19, Allen 4-9 0-0 8, Kanis 1-4 1-2 3, Marek 0-2 0-0 0, Carson 1-3 0-0 3, Cooper 6-9 2-3 14, Sorenson 7-8 2-3 16, Abrahao 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 29-60 12-16 72.

Idaho (1-6)—C.Johnson 1-4 0-0 3, Watson 5-13 2-2 13, Mackey 0-2 0-0 0, Crowell 3-7 0-0 8, Nwoke 1-3 2-2 4, Avworo 1-2 1-3 3, Webb 1-3 0-0 3, Jackson 0-0 1-2 1, M.Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Morris 2-4 0-0 6, Madsen 3-4 1-2 7. Totals 18-43 7-11 50.

Halftime—Southern Utah 31, Idaho 26. 3-point goals—Southern Utah 2-18 (Carson 1-2, Barnes 1-6, Abrahao 0-1, Griego 0-1, Marek 0-2, Allen 0-3, Adepoju 0-3), Idaho 7-19 (Crowell 2-3, Morris 2-4, C.Johnson 1-2, Webb 1-3, Watson 1-5, Mackey 0-2). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Southern Utah 30 (Adepoju 6), Idaho 31 (Crowell 7). Assists—Southern Utah 17 (Barnes 6), Idaho 9 (C.Johnson 4). Total fouls—Southern Utah 12, Idaho 14. A—917.