The Hawaii men’s basketball team couldn’t make it three straight road wins, suffering a 75-61 defeat to Idaho at the Cowan Spectrum in Moscow, Idaho, today.

UH (13-10, 4-7 Western Athletic Conference) had a chance to move into the top half of the league with a victory, but was stymied by 10-for-18 Vandals 3-point shooting. The hosts snapped a four-game losing streak and shot 49 percent overall.

With five regular-season WAC games remaining, UH dropped to seventh place in conjunction with Fresno State’s defeat of Louisiana Tech tonight.

Idaho (13-10, 6-5) beat Hawaii for the sixth time in the teams’ last seven meetings. The Vandals swept the season series after winning 59-44 in Honolulu on Jan. 8. 

Sophomore center Vander Joaquim led UH with 14 points and 14 rebounds, while sophomore forward Joston Thomas added 12 points. UH’s top scorer, forward Bill Amis, was held to eight points, while guard Zane Johnson put in nine in his return from a one-game absence due to concussion-like symptoms.

UH wasn’t beaten soundly in any single area of the game, but UI did slightly better in most aspects. UH shot 42.3 percent overall, hit six 3-pointers in 17 attempts and was 6-for-10 on free throws compared to 16-for-19 by UI.

The rebounding battle was even at 30, but UH committed 15 turnovers to UI’s 13.

Idaho guards Jeff Ledbetter, Shawn Henderson and Stephen Madison combined to shoot 10-for-15 on 3-pointers.

Gib Arnold’s team led 17-10 midway through the first half, but yielded a 15-0 Vandals run. UH rallied to tie the game at 30, but trailed 38-32 at halftime and never managed to recapture the lead.

UI outscored UH by 12 in the second half.

The Rainbows don’t play again until hosting Nevada on Feb. 14.