Vandal men lose at Hornets

January 25, 2019 6:16 AM

Alyssa Charlston,

Posted: January 25, 2019 6:16 AM

Updated: May 20, 2021 9:06 AM

by Alyssa Charlston

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The growing pains continued for Idaho men’s basketball (4-14, 1-6 BSC) with a 69-48 loss at Sacramento State (8-8, 2-5 BSC) on Thursday night.

THE GAME

Idaho stayed close in the opening minutes, trailing 17-13 at the 10-minute mark. Sacramento State then went on a 13-point run to take a commanding lead. The Hornets would go into the half up, 37-19.

The Hornets maintained their lead throughout the second half, with the Vandals unable to get closer than 15 points. Sacramento State would go on to win, 69-48.

Idaho shot 38.6 percent (17-of-44) from the floor and 37.5 percent (6-of-16) from beyond the arc. Sacramento State finished 27-of-52 (51.9%) from the field and 6-of-19 (31.6%) from range. The Vandals finished with 14 turnovers, but had 10 in the first half.

THE NAME

Jared Rodriguez . Rodriguez narrowly missed out on a double-double, finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds. It is the second straight game that Rodriguez finished within one rebound of a double-double.

THE NOTES

Idaho falls to 4-14 on the season, including 1-6 in Big Sky play. The loss is the largest ever for the Vandals against the Hornets.

Cassius Smits-Francisco had a strong night with seven points, five rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes of action.

Idaho finished with 13 assists on 17 baskets, the highest assist-to-field goal ratio of the season for the Vandals.

THE QUOTES – Don Verlin

“It was just like we thought it was going to be, and we weren’t able to respond and execute the way we needed to. Give them credit, they got us to turn it over 10 times in the first half. We did not execute and they were able to get a big lead. What we have to do to move forward is to continue to stay the course.

“We need to go back to the grind and figure out how to get better. We need to stay positive the best we can. We know this is a young team, we know there are growing pains, but we need to stay positive. Stay the course and keep working.”

Portland State is next up for the Vandals, on Saturday night at 7 p.m. Check back with GoVandals.com tomorrow for more information.

Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho men’s basketball by following the team on twitter, @VandalHoops. Ticket packages are on sale at GoVandals.com/Tickets.