GAME NOTES: The South Dakota State Jackrabbits play their second straight road game to open the 2014-15 campaign, as they drop in on the Idaho Vandals for a non-conference clash on Monday night.

The 'Jacks were on the other side of the country for the season opener on Friday when they came up short against Buffalo in a 69-67 final. However, the good news for SDSU is that after this meeting the squad will be playing four of the next five at home in Frost Arena.

Idaho, which is playing in Memorial Gym instead of the Cowan Spectrum until UC Davis comes to town the first week of December, got off on the right foot Friday night when it took down Eastern Oregon in a 77-65 final. After this contest, the Vandals hit the road for a pair versus Northern Illinois and Boise State over the next week or so.

In terms of the all-time series, the teams have split four previous encounters according to SDSU sources.

With a minute to play against Buffalo in the opener, a layup by Jake Bittle gave the Jackrabbits a 66-65 advantage but that was before the hosts rattled off four straight points to grab the lead and the eventual win. Bittle, who shot 7-of-10 from the field, finished with a team-best 16 points for the 'Jacks, followed by Cody Larson who not only posted 15 points, he also cleared a game-high 15 rebounds and yet SDSU still lost the battle of the boards, 48-46.

Recording a double-double of his own for the visitors was Zach Horstman who delivered 13 points and 12 boards before picking up his fifth personal foul, while Skyler Flatten gave the squad a bit of a lift off the bench with 11 points, although he did shoot only 4-of-13 from the floor.

As a group, the 'Jacks shot a mere 5-of-18 (.278) from behind the 3-point line and cost themselves a victory due to a woeful 14-of-29 (.483) performance at the free-throw line as well.

For the Vandals, the meeting with Eastern Oregon was anything but easy, seeing as how the visitors trailed by just a single point at the break, 37-36, before converting only eight field goals in the second half of the 12-point decision. Arkadiy Mkrtychyan stepped up with a team-best 18 points, pulled down eight rebounds and made three steals in 29 minutes for the hosts, followed by Sekou Wiggs with 13 points, the only other double-digit performer for Idaho.

Defensively, the Vandals held Eastern Oregon to only 37.5 percent shooting from the floor and 9-of-32 out on the perimeter and watched the Mountaineers, players who compete at the NAIA level, convert only 14-of-27 at the charity stripe. Idaho registered a 45-34 edge on the glass and overcame 13 turnovers to establish the win.

Even though they are on the road yet again, the Jackrabbits have already shown that they have some strong talent that can compete in the paint, an area that Idaho could use some work in moving forward.