For too large a lump of the Vandal men’s 88-78 win over Montana State Thursday night in the Cowan Spectrum, Idaho aptly paralleled a sailor without his spinach, or the Looney Tunes without their “secret stuff.”
The Vandals never fell behind by double-digits, and came back to win by 10 points, but there were moments where the contest plainly felt as if it were slipping through their grasp.
Beginning as late as the latter half of the second, Idaho, a heavy favorite, seemingly rediscovered its all-around savvy and proceeded to show-out, as had been anticipated.
But, for approximately 30 minutes, the Vandals looked hard-pressed in stifling a Bobcat team with almost no discernable characteristics, save its preseason conference-MVP in guard Tyler Hall.