The Washington State men’s basketball team rallied late, but was ultimately defeated by rival Idaho, 78-74, Thursday night.

The Vandals took control of the game early, storming out to a 14-6 lead to start the game, and the Cougars failed to take control when opportunities presented themselves. WSU had a chance to tie the game at 75 in the closing seconds, but redshirt junior guard Que Johnson’s 3-pointer bounced off the rim, and any chance of a Cougar comeback vanished.

The loss marked the second-straight loss to the Vandals after previously winning the previous 11 matchups. The Vandals dominated the glass all night, out-rebounding the Cougars 39-22 while collecting 14 offensive rebounds. Junior guard Perrion Callandret led the Vandals in scoring with 25 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. The Cougars were led by senior forward Josh Hawkinson, who recorded a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

Idaho outplayed the Cougars from the get-go, showing tenacity on the glass and some timely outside shooting late. The Cougars were never able to build a substantial lead and found themselves down for most of the game.

WSU will have little time to recover from Thursday’s loss to the Vandals as they will head home to play UTEP at 3 p.m. Sunday in Beasley Coliseum.

Reporting by Chase Urquart