MOSCOW - San Jose State came out hot early, but it was Idaho that finished the strongest in a 74-66 Vandal win on Thursday in Western Athletic Conference men's basketball before 1,173 at the Cowan Spectrum.

The visiting Spartans (7-14, 0-6 WAC) went 5 of 10 from 3-point range in the first half and had a nine-point cushion at 35-26 with 2:22 remaining in the first half, but Idaho (11-9, 4-2) answered with an 18-2 run over the end of the first and the first two minutes of the second half to seize control of the contest.

"That last 2:22 of the half was probably the key to the game," Idaho coach Don Verlin said. "We did a great job of finishing that half and getting it back to one. We knew we had to pick up our defensive intensity, but I think more than anything we just needed to wear them down and I thought we did that as the half wore on."

Deremy Geiger went 7 of 10 from the field - all behind the 3-point line - for a game-high 21 points, Kyle Barone added 21 points and 11 rebounds.

D.J. Brown led San Jose State with 18 points, and Wil Carter added 15 points and nine rebounds and James Kinney had 15 points.

Freshman Connor Hill from Post Falls High hit a 3-pointer to boost Idaho's lead to 56-46 with 10:48 left. Hill went 3 of 6 on 3s and finished with nine points.

Idaho plays host to Hawaii (11-9, 3-3) on Saturday.

SAN JOSE ST. (7-14)

Shamburger 1-8 4-6 7, Smith 3-6 0-0 6, Carter 5-9 5-5 15, Brown 7-15 0-0 18, Kinney 5-14 4-4 15, Douglas 1-4 0-0 3, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Ballard 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-57 13-15 66.

IDAHO (11-9)

Tatum 0-3 1-3 1, Bandoumel 4-8 3-4 11, Barone 8-14 5-6 21, Madison 4-9 0-0 9, Geiger 7-10 0-0 21, Habeeb 0-0 0-0 0, Hill 3-6 0-0 9, McChristian 0-1 0-0 0, Borton 0-2 0-0 0, Kammerer 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 27-54 9-13 74.

Halftime_San Jose St. 37-36. 3-Point Goals_San Jose St. 7-27 (Brown 4-10, Douglas 1-4, Shamburger 1-5, Kinney 1-8), Idaho 11-23 (Geiger 7-10, Hill 3-6, Madison 1-3, Tatum 0-2, Borton 0-2). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_San Jose St. 28 (Carter 9), Idaho 36 (Barone 11). Assists_San Jose St. 7 (Carter 3), Idaho 19 (Tatum 6). Total Fouls_San Jose St. 14, Idaho 16. Technical_Shamburger. A_1,173.