Stampede drop home opener

With Idaho down by 12 points to start the fourth quarter, things at CenturyLink Arena were looking eerily similar to a year ago.

This time around, the Stampede gave fans a reason to stick around.

Idaho cut the score to within one point in the final seconds, but ultimately lost its home opener to the Iowa Energy 94-87 on Wednesday night.

The Stampede are off to a 1-2 start.

“Our guys did a good job, but some things didn’t go our way,” second-year Idaho coach Dean Cooper said. “I think we proved that we have some resiliency.”

No player was more resilient than Idaho guard Brandon Fields. The Nevada product went 0-for-6 from the field in the first half, but he kept going to the rim and finished with 16 points, tied for the team high.

“We kept saying it was a 48-minute game,” Fields said. “I kept saying — and the fellas kept telling me, too — everything is going to be OK. We’re a team. That’s why I just kept fighting.”

And so did the Stampede. They trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half before making it an 88-87 game with 1:04 remaining. Iowa (2-0) scored the final six points.

Idaho lost traction early in the season a year ago, losing by double digits in seven of its first eight home games.

Wednesday’s game featured the top two players in the D-League’s Prospect Watch: Idaho forward Jeff Ayres (No. 1) and Iowa forward Perry Jones III.

This night belonged to Jones, in the box score and in the win column.

Jones, Oklahoma City’s first-round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, scored a game-high 35 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. Cartier Martin added 21 points for Iowa.

Ayres, who Idaho selected with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s D-League draft, finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

“That’s a high-level team over there,” Cooper said. “So much is fluid in the D-League, but if these teams stay like they are, they’re going to be Eastern and Western conference playoff teams.

“I told the players that this was about as close to an NBA game that you can play in the D-League. With Cartier Martin and Perry Jones and (Idaho’s) Jack Cooley and Jeff Ayres, these are guys that are going to get called up. It was exactly the game I expected it to be.”

It just wasn’t the result he wanted.

Idaho stays home to host Bakersfield on Saturday night. Cooper expects his team to come back and battle for a win, just as it did on the road to open the season. Idaho lost its opener at Rio Grande Valley, and came back the next night and beat the Vipers.

“(After Wednesday’s game), I said that I have 12 guys sitting in this room who I know are going to go 48 minutes every night, no matter how it’s going,” Cooper said. “That I can be proud of.”

ENERGY 94, STAMPEDE 87

IOWA (94)—Martin 7-13 5-6 21, Jones III 15-26 2-3 35, Stepheson 3-6 1-2 7, Jones 6-10 3-4 16, Harrison 4-10 1-2 9, Holyfield 1-1 2-2 4, Oglesby 0-2 0-0 0, Jackson 0-2 2-2 2, Wright 0-1 0-2 0, Whisnant 0-4 0-2 0. Totals 36-75 16-23 94.

IDAHO (87)—O’Brien 4-8 2-4 13, Ayres 6-12 3-3 16, Cooley 1-5 2-2 4, Graham 5-16 4-7 15, Knight 4-15, 6-8 16, Zimmerman 2-9 1-1 6, Riley 2-2 0-0 2, Singler 4-8 0-0 9, Releford 0-1 2-2 2, Manns 1-1 0-2 2. Totals 29-77 20-29 87.

3-Point Goals—Iowa 6-20 (Martin 2-4, Jones III 3-6, Jones 1-2, Harrison 0-2, Oglesby 0-2, Whisnant 0-2), Idaho 9-28 (O’Brien 3-3, Ayres 1-2, Graham 1-9, Fields 2-5, Zimmerman 1-4, Singler 1-4, Releford 0-1). Fouled Out— Iowa 2 (Harrison, Holyfield). Rebounds—Iowa 42 (Jones III 14), Idaho 45 (Cooley 14). Assists—Iowa 13 (Harrison 4), Idaho 15 (Fields 4). Total Fouls—Iowa 26, Idaho 29. Technicals—none. A—2132.

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 11:57 PM with the headline "Stampede drop home opener."