‘Bows end road trip with loss to Idaho, 75-61

MOSCOW, Idaho – The University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team’s attempt at a road sweep was turned back by Idaho in a 75-61 loss Saturday night at the Cowan Spectrum, states a release from the UH athletic department.

The Rainbow Warriors dropped to 13-10 overall and 4-7 in the Western Athletic Conference.

After an exhilarating win at Boise State on Thursday night, the ’Bows entered Saturday’s game with a prime opportunity to move up the WAC standings. A win would have put the Rainbow Warriors in a tie for fourth place. Instead UH had its modest two-game road win streak snapped and fell to the Vandals for the sixth time in the last seven meetings.

Idaho (13-10, 6-5 WAC), meanwhile, halted a four-game losing streak.

Vander Joaquim led UH, recording his second straight double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Joston Thomas chipped in 12 points, while Zane Johnson returned from a one-game absence and finished with nine points.

Jeff Ledbetter led the Vandals with 15 points, while draining four of the team’s 10 3-pointers. Brandon Wiley added 13 points.

UH got off to a fast start and held a 17-10 lead midway through the first half. But Stephen Madison hit three straight 3-pointers to spark a string of 15 unanswered points, giving Idaho a 25-17 lead. The Vandals eventually took a 38-32 lead into the locker room with both teams shooting better than 50 percent from the floor.

Idaho kept its hot hand in the second half and a decisive 22-11 run put the Vandals up, 60-43, with a little more than 12 minutes remaining. UH put together a brief rally, cutting the deficit to 10 points. But that would be as close as the Rainbow Warriors would get as a stretch of five scoreless minutes would seal their fate.

The ’Bows will now have a nine-day layoff before taking on Nevada at home on Monday, Feb. 14. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.