Men’s Basketball: Vanguard struggle extended

Any leftovers that remained from the Vanguard University men’s basketball program’s first NAIA national championship have clearly spoiled.

That point was accentuated by visiting College of Idaho, which produced an 80-79 nonconference triumph on Friday that marked the No. 1-ranked Lions’ third straight loss and dropped their record to 4-3.

Not since fifth-year coach Rhett Soliday’s first season at the helm have the Lions lost three straight. The championship run last season did not include so much as back-to-back losses.

The defeats have come against quality opponents with Idaho (11-0) tacking onto losses to No. 3-ranked Cal State San Marcos and No. 22-ranked Rocky Mountain College (9-0 and 6-1, respectively, heading into Friday).

The Lions trailed most of the first half, but led for most of the second, only to see the Yotes score eight of the final 11 points.

A dunk by senior Keith Mason pulled Vanguard even, 79-79, with 20 seconds left. But Mason fouled 6-foot-11 Idaho center Marko Kovacevic as the University of Utah transfer was attempting to follow his own miss near the rim with 3.7 seconds left.

Kovacevic missed the first free throw, after which Vanguard called timeout. But Kovacevic connected on the second and a less-than-ideal final possession ended in a Mason half-court bomb that bounced off the rim.

Mason fielded the inbounds pass near the Idaho free-throw line, turned and dribbled to midcourt, before elevating for the open shot. The plan, Soliday said, was for Mason to pass to senior guard Chris Gorman, who was running ahead along the sideline.

“For whatever reason, [Mason] didn’t find [Gorman],” Soliday said. “I thought [Gorman] was there, [Mason] just didn’t find him.”

Senior guard DeAndre Jones had 33 points to lead the Lions, who received a combined 24 points and 10 rebounds from their other four starters.

Rebounding was the biggest deficiency for Vanguard, as Idaho posted a 45-30 edge on the glass.

Idaho had 18 offensive rebounds, one fewer than the Lions managed at the defensive end, to help overcome its 23-17 turnover deficit and a slightly worse field-goal percentage (.426 to the Lions’ .446 mark).

The Lions led, 76-72, after Jones netted a pair of free throws with 2:48 left.

But three-pointers by the Yotes’ Demetrius Perkins and Jordan O’Byrne, the latter with 1:46 remaining, gave the visitors a 78-76 cushion. Perkins made four of five three-point tries to net a team-best 24 points.

Mason answered by hitting the first of two free throws with 1:13 left, but after Jones missed a putback after rebounding the second miss, and Mason followed an Idaho turnover with a missed layup with 35 ticks on the clock, Yotes’ guard Emanuel Morgan made the second of a double-bonus free-throw situation to make it 79-77, Idaho with 32 seconds left.

Gorman penetrated and dished deftly to Mason for the a dunk that knotted it, but Vanguard ultimately could not muster enough to avoid making it 19 days since their last win. It will have been 22 days without a W when the Lions open Golden State Athletic Conference play on Tuesday at home against Westmont.

“We’re playing really hard, but we haven’t found our collective purpose yet, in terms of execution and identity,” Soliday said. “And we’ve played a really tough schedule. The last few games, we’ve lost to really good teams that are capable of beating us even when we play well.”

Vanguard missed nine of 32 free-throw attempts, despite Jones draining 17 of 18, while Idaho sank 20 of 25. And no Lions’ player had more than four rebounds.

Kovacevic had 18 points and 13 rebounds, including five offensive boards, two more than the Lions’ entire starting five could produce.

“We got hammered on the boards,” Soliday said. “And that will do it.”

Junior forward Kwinn Hanson and freshman guard Malachi Hoosein both had 11 points off the bench to add a spark, as Gorman finished with nine points, seven fewer than his team-leading average through the first six games.

Soliday and his staff met with the players for more than 20 minutes before exiting the postgame locker room.

“We didn’t feel like we did all we could,” Soliday said. “We felt our focus could have been a little better on a few possessions. We put such a premium on all the little things, in terms of effort, and when you give possessions away, it really costs you.”

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Nonconference

College of Idaho 80, Vanguard 79

COI – Nebeker 12, Kovacevic 18, Perkins 24, Wilson 4, Donaldson 2, Morgan 9, O’Byrne 8, Bruce 3.

3-pt. goals – Perkins 4, O’Byrne 2, Morgan 1, Bruce 1.

Fouled out – Donaldson, Wilson.

Technicals – None.

VU – Han 6, Allmon 2, Mason 7, Jones 33, Gorman 9, Hanson 11, Hoosein 11.

3-pt. goals – Hoosein 3, Jones 2, Gorman 1.

Fouled out – Allmon.

Technicals – None.

Halftime – Idaho, 37-36.