The Idaho Vandals men’s basketball teams lost their first game of the season against San Diego in a nail biter. Idaho made a strong comeback in the second half, and the game kept reaching a tie all the way up until the final minute, before falling 78-74. After their first road game loss of the season, they will try and bounce back from a tough loss and play University of California, San Diego.
In the firsthalf, Idaho had a poor start, being down 8-2. Idaho crawled back and tied it at 11, until San Diego hit four three-pointers in under three minutes. San Diego kept this momentum into the rest of the half,leading the game 38-27. Idaho was 1-7 on three-pointers in the first half, while San Diego was 50% on 14 three-point shots.
Idaho came out of the second half running and brought it up to 39-40 San Diego. From this point until the rest of the game, both teams went back and forth, and there was no clear winner until the final twelve seconds of the game. San Deigo was winning 76-74 with 34 seconds remaining.
Idaho fouled San Diego and went up the line the for a free throw and missed, giving Idaho 21 seconds to tie or win the game. On the right side of the floor, as redshirt sophomore guard Kolton Mitchell was getting the ball from a handoff, it slipped out of his fingers, causing a turnover with just twelve seconds left.
UI guard Kolton Mitchell dribble drives with his left hand by a Washington State defender | John Keegan | Argonaut
After San Diego hit both free throws, the game ended in a heartbreaking loss for the Idaho Vandals basketball team. Freshman forward Jackson Rassmussen had a great game, with 23 points and 10-12 from the free throw line. Idaho also dominated the paint with 34 points over San Diego’s 22 points. Although the stat line doesn’t show it as much, the Vandals had a lot of second chance points and rebounds.
Idaho will look to rebound from this and get a few more wins before heading down to Boise to host the Holiday Hoops Classic over Thanksgiving.
The next game against UC San Diego will tip off on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 1 p.m. in La Jolla, California, and can be streamed on ESPN+. The next home game for Idaho is on Nov. 22 and will be the last time the Vandals play at home until Dec. 3.
Timmon Friel can be reached at [email protected]