UC San Diego blasts Idaho in second half of ‘unacceptable’ loss
MOSCOW, Idaho – Idaho closes its 2024 home schedule on a monumentally frustrating note.
UC San Diego went on a second-half tear, outscoring the Vandals on the way to an 80-56 win that improved the Tritons to 9-4 and left Idaho at 4-7.
Idaho also lost 6-foot-9 senior Kyson Rose with 7minutes, 39 seconds to play in the first half when he dove for a loose ball and UCSD’s Chris Howell fell hard on him.
Idaho coach Alex Pribble said Rose lost consciousness. Rose was attended by trainers, Pribble, an emergency medical technician and a Moscow police officer before being helped off the court to the locker room and then to the Gritman Medical Center emergency room with undisclosed injuries.
The conclusion of fall semester finals Friday, the absence of students at the game and Rose’s injury may have had some bearing on Idaho’s dismal second half, Pribble acknowledged. However, he said “we have to be a team that despite the distractions and uncontrollables, we have to compete. We didn’t do that tonight.
“That is unacceptable for this program. … We took a step backwards.”
In the first half, the Vandals hit on 8 of 14 from the arc, outshooting the Tritons, who went 4-11. However, it wasn’t enough to offset a free -throw shooting disparity decidedly in UCSD’s favor. Idaho converted its lone free throw in the half. The Tritons hit 11 of 17.
Idaho led 21-19 when Kristian Gonzalez hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key. But in the final 6:18, the Vandals were outscored 20-10 to trail 39-31 at the break.
The game got away from Idaho in the second half as that eight-point deficit eventually grew to 27 points at the 2:46 minute mark before Jojo Anderson finally cut into it with a corner three.Idaho’s shooting tailed off from 11 of 24 in the first half, including 8 of 14 from the arc, to 9 of 27 and 4 of 14, respectively, in the second half.
The Tritons, by contrast, went the other way. They shot 12 of 27 from the floor before the break, 4 of 11 on 3s. In the second half, they were 15 of 31 and 6 of 19.
They also swept Idaho on the boards, 40-29.
“Unfortunately, they were the more physical team tonight. It is hard to say that on your own floor,” Pribble said.
Women’s basketball
The Idaho women won their seventh straight, defeating Utah State 71-56. Idaho (7-2) raced to an 11-0 lead before Utah State (1-10) got back within 32-30 at halftime, and the Vandals withstood a 10-2 run by the Aggies in the second half before pulling away.
Olivia Nelson led the Vandals with 20 points. Jennifer Aadland added 14, Hope Hassmann 12 and Sarah Brans 11.
Elise Livingston paced Utah State with 16.
“It shows our work is paying off,”, Idaho coach Arthur Moreira said. “But our goal is not to win seven games in a row, it is to be playing in March. It is better to learn by winning than losing games, but we still have a long way to go.”