Earns second WAC Player of the Week honor

THE VANDALS ARE FINISHING STRONG again, having won five consecutive games and standing in third in the WAC with an overall record of 16-11, 7-4 WAC so far on the season. During that span, junior center KYLE BARONE has been a force. Last weekend against Portland State he went a stellar 10-of-11 from the field, and led all scorers with 25 points against the Vikings in the Cowan Spectrum.

The following is an official press release from the University of Idaho Sports Information Department.


Denver – Kyle Barone’s strong play is a big part of Idaho’s five-game winning streak and on Monday, he was honored again by the Western Athletic Conference as its Verizon Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 13-19.

Barone, a junior center from Garden Grove, Calif. (Pacifica HS), led Idaho to a 77-68 win in its Sears BracketBusters game against Portland State at the Cowan Spectrum on Saturday. He led all players with 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting – both of which are career bests – and added eight rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.

The 10-of-11 field goal percentage is tied as the third-best single-game shooting performance by a Vandal, and is the best since Mike Hall equaled the tally in a win over San Jose State on Jan. 24, 2008. It’s also the second-best single-game shooting effort in the WAC this year. In addition to his hot shooting from the field, Barone also went 5-of-5 from the free throw line.

The honor is Barone’s second in a row this season and the second of his career. During Idaho’s active season-best five-game winning streak, he’s averaging 17.6 points and 8.4 rebounds on 33-of-54 (.611) shooting from the field, along with a 22-of-28 (.786) free throw clip.

Idaho (16-11, 7-4 WAC) has one game this week as the team heads to Logan, Utah, for a Friday matchup with Utah State (14-14, 5-6 WAC). The Vandals and Aggies tip off at 6:05 p.m. (PT).