MOSCOW — For once, the Idaho men’s basketball team didn’t have a close game … in a victory.
Senior guard Mikey Dixon led four Vandal players in double figures with 16 points as they rolled in the second half to an 84-55 nonconference win Saturday against SAGU American Indian College at Idaho Central Credit Union Arena.
Former Moscow High School standout and sophomore guard Gabe Quinnett tallied 15 points and four rebounds in a reserve role for Idaho (3-8), which shot the ball at a 46 percent clip (29-for-63). Freshman forward Tanner Christensen finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, and junior guard Trevante Anderson tallied 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Dane Maggi finished with 19 points, and Jeremiah Williams added 11 for the Warriors (0-7).
SAGU gave Idaho trouble early in the game. The Warriors held a two-point edge 3:30 in, and while freshman guard Yusef Salih’s 3-point at the 15:06 mark in the first half pushed the Vandals to the lead for good, SAGU didn’t go away easily.
Maggi’s layup with 11:58 left brought the Warriors to within 13-12. A 9-0 Idaho run made it a 10-point advantage, but SAGU got it to 25-23 with 5:58 to go on Williams’ 3. The Vandal lead was just 31-29 with 2:35 left, but Idaho scored eight of the final 10 points of the half, including five points from Dixon, to push it to 39-31 at intermission.
Maggi’s jumper with 18:27 left in regulation brought the Warriors to within 39-35, but the Vandals put it out of reach with a 14-2 run in a 5:11 stretch to make it 53-37. SAGU never could get closer than 14 the rest of the way.
Idaho next plays at 11 a.m. Wednesday at UC Riverside.
SAGU AMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE (0-7)
Conway Fox 1-3 0-0 2, Williams 4-8 2-7 12, Coe 2-4 1-2 5, Maggi 4-14 11-11 19, Webb 0-1 0-0 0, Pate 1-8 0-1 2, Haywood 1-4 0-1 3, Davis 1-5 0-0 2, Godfree 3-6 0-0 8, Mesic 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 18-55 14-22 55.
Christensen 4-7 4-4 12, Anderson 4-9 2-3 10, Bertain 0-4 0-0 0, Dixon 6-9 0-1 16, Smith 1-5 1-2 4, Kilgore 2-7 3-4 8, Quinnett 5-7 0-0 15, King 3-4 1-1 7, Salih 2-6 0-3 6, McHugh 2-5 1-1 6. Totals 29-63 12-19 84.
Halftime: Idaho, 39-31. 3-Point Goals: SAGU American Indian College 5-25 (Godfree 2-4, Williams 2-5, Haywood 1-1, Conway Fox 0-1, Mesic 0-1, Davis 0-3, Pate 0-3, Maggi 0-7), Idaho 14-37 (Quinnett 5-7, Dixon 4-7, Salih 2-4, Kilgore 1-1, McHugh 1-4, Smith 1-5, Bertain 0-4, Anderson 0-5). Rebounds: SAGU American Indian College 25 (Coe 8), Idaho 46 (Christensen, Anderson 8). Assists: SAGU American Indian College 8 (Coe 4), Idaho 20 (Anderson 8). Total Fouls: SAGU American Indian College 19, Idaho 18. A: 1,105 (5,732).
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