MEN’S BASKETBALL’S WINNING STREAK COMES TO A CLOSE WITH LOSS AT IDAHO

11/24/2009

MOSCOW, Idaho -- Four Vandals scored in double figures, led by Luiz Toledo’s team-best 15 points as Idaho defeated Sacramento State, 75-61, in a non-conference men’s basketball game Tuesday evening at Memorial Gym.

Idaho scored on its first five possessions of the game to race out to a 13-5 lead and never trailed the entire way. Sacramento State stayed within striking distance the entire game, but the athletic Vandals kept knocking down big shots to stop Hornet rallies. Sacramento State never trailed by more than 14 points the entire game as the final score also matched Idaho’s largest lead of the evening.

With the loss, Sacramento State had its two-game winning streak halted and fell to 3-3 this season. The Hornets will now return to Sacramento for the first time since Friday morning as the team remained on the road after winning at Oregon State, 65-63, last Saturday. Of their first six games this year, the Hornets have now played five of those contests away from home.

Idaho, which was selected to finish fourth in the Western Athletic Conference’s coaches and media polls, improved to 3-1 with the victory. Including tonight, Sacramento State has now played in an opponent’s home opener for the third time this season (Rice and Oregon State were also home openers for those respective teams).

Idaho finished the game shooting 44.4 percent (24-54) from the field, buried seven three-pointers (five in the first half), and went to the free throw line 23 more times than the Hornets. In fact, the game was won at the free throw line where the Vandals converted on 20-of-31 of their opportunities (.645) while Sacramento State went to the free throw line just eight times, converting on each of those chances. Both teams converted on 24 made field goals, but the Hornets shot just 35.8 percent (24-67) from the floor, the team’s second lowest field goal percentage of the season.

After Idaho jumped out to the 13-5 lead, Sacramento State quickly cut the lead to 15-10, but a free throw and three-pointer from Luciano de Souza pushed the lead back to 19-10 with 13:02 left in the first half. The Hornets made another run when a layup from Michael Selling again shaved the Vandal lead to five points (24-19) with 9:33 left in the opening half, but Idaho responded with a layup and a three-pointer from Marcus Lawrence to push the lead back to 10 points.

A little later in the half, a lay-in from Sultan Toles-Bey cut the lead to six points, but Idaho again responded by scoring the next three points to go up nine. Every time the Hornets made a slight push to draw within a two-possession game, Idaho had an answer. And every time the Vandals made a run and attempted to take a big lead, Sacramento State would fight back.

The Hornets again cut the lead to six points (54-48) on a Selling layup with 15:05 left in the second half, but Souza immediately responded with another three-pointer and consecutive layups from Kyle Barone and Mac Hopson pushed the lead to 61-48 with 12:51 to play. Sacramento State would get no closer than nine points of the Vandal lead the rest of the way. In fact, when a jumper from Duro Bjegovic cut the lead to nine points (61-52 at the 10:14 mark), Idaho again buried a three-pointer, this time by Jeff Ledbetter.

Joining Toledo in double figures for Idaho were Kashif Watson (12 points, game-high tying seven rebounds), Marvin Jefferson (12 points, three blocked shots) and de Souza (11 points, 3-of-4 from long distance). Idaho held a slim advantage on the glass (42-38) as Sacramento State was outrebounded for just the second time this year. The Hornets outscored the Vandals in the paint (32-30) and on second-chance points (10-8), but could not overcome the disparity at the free throw line.

Sacramento State was led in scoring for the fourth straight game by Toles-Bey, who finished with 16 points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal. However, Toles-Bey struggled from the field, converting on just six of his 18 attempts, and saw his field goal percentage dip to 33.8 percent (25-74) this year. Senior Michael Selling added 15 points (7-of-14 shooting), five rebounds and two steals, and, despite battling the flu bug, freshman John Dickson contributed 10 points, three rebounds and a steal.

Bjegovic, who was playing in his fourth Div. I contest, tallied season highs in points (9) and rebounds (6), while shooting 3-of-6 from the field, 1-of-2 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. Although 12 Hornets received minutes in this evening’s game, only seven cracked into the scoring column, including four points each from Domineek Daniel and Justin Eller, and three from Antonio Flaggs. Point guard Mike Marcial committed his first turnover in the last four games late in the second half. In fact, Marcial went 101 consecutive minutes (spanning five games) without committing a turnover until his miscue with 4:26 remaining in the contest.

As a team, Sacramento State finished with a season-best 10 steals, including two each from Selling, Daniel and David Norris. Dickson did not have a block tonight, marking the first game all season the athletic swingman did not record at least one blocked shot.

Sacramento State returns home for just its second game inside the friendly confines this Saturday, Nov. 28, for a matinee against UC Riverside. Tip is 1:05 p.m.