RENO - The Idaho Vandals picked up what was probably their biggest win in recent memory, surprising Nevada on its home floor, 78-73, in Western Athletic Conference men's basketball action Saturday night.

Idaho, a league cellar dweller in recent seasons, upset five-time defending WAC champion Nevada in the conference opener for both schools behind a gritty performance that saw it bend but never break.

"I don't want to take anything away from Idaho because tonight they outplayed us, but I'm extremely disappointed with the job I've done with this team," Nevada coach Mark Fox said. "It was a college game and we're a high school team right now. This is a college team and we're not playing like one. We played with no determination, didn't defend and didn't execute offensively."

Nevada trailed for most of the game but took a three-point lead, 65-62, after Malik Cooke converted a pair of free throws with 2:48 to go in the contest. Idaho responded by scoring the next nine points. Luciano de Souza got a dunk and hit a corresponding free throw to make good on a three-point play after a Nevada turnover. The sequence gave Idaho a 71-65 edge with 31.4 seconds to go and it held on for the key WAC win.

"Like I told the guys at that (2:48) timeout, we'd all take being down three at Nevada with two minutes to go. That's where we're at let's go find a way to win it and we did," first-year Idaho coach Don Verlin said. "I talked to our guys and said if we can string three stops together, we'll win this game. I thought Nevada missed some shots and we took advantage of the opportunity.

"It's my first year and it's a whole new team, but we hadn't won at Nevada in nine or 10 tries. I'd say it's as big a win as we've had in a while."

Nevada trimmed the Idaho lead to three, 76-73, after a Cooke trey from the top of the key, but that left just 1.4 ticks on the clock and proved too little too late.

Idaho buried 14 of its last 15 free-throw attempts to help hold off Nevada. For the game, the Vandals, who shoot just 66 percent as a team from the charity stripe, dropped in 19 of 24 foul shots (79 percent).

The stat sheet was fairly even with the exception of the shooting. Idaho shot 26-of-50 (52 percent) from the field compared to Nevada's 25-of-63 (40 percent).

"They made some tough shots tonight," Nevada guard Lyndale Burleson said. "We defended all right, not our best. They're a good team...They just came out and played hard. We came back and battled, but they came out with the 'W'. They just wanted it more than us."

Cooke converted a three-point play with 12:12 to go in the game that saw Nevada forge ahead, 47-45. It was Nevada's first lead of the game. It didn't last long as Idaho reeled off the next seven points.

Idaho kept the lead until Armon Johnson nailed two free throws with 3:11 left for a 63-62 Pack lead. Those preceded Cooke's free throws at the 2:48 mark and set the stage for Idaho's late-game heroics.

Brandon Fields finished with 19 points for the Wolf Pack to lead all scorers while Cooke chipped in 17.

Idaho (7-7) saw five players hit for double digits in the scoring column. Mac Hopson and de Souza paced the Vandals' scoring effort with 16 points each. Kashif Watson, Brandon Wiley and Marvin Jefferson added 13, 12 and 10 points respectively.

The Wolf Pack (7-7) did win the war on the boards, 36-31, and forced 15 turnovers while giving away just 13, but it could not overcome Idaho's stellar shooting.

Nevada trailed at halftime, 35-33. A sluggish start was the biggest reason for the halftime deficit. The Wolf Pack managed to score just three points through the first six and a half minutes of play.

Idaho's de Souza canned a 3-pointer at the 13:56 mark of the first half that gave the visiting Vandals a 15-3 advantage.

"We didn't start well. I don't care about coming back. We didn't play well, at all ever," Fox said. "We lost our opening game (in league) last year, which I warned them about. That was on the road, but we've got to grow up and we're going to. We understand the process, but are we going to be tough enough to handle it?"

Nevada found some offensive life after the slow start, but Idaho still had a double-digit lead, 29-19 following a short jumper in the lane by Watson with 6:25 remaining before halftime.

Watson's bucket served as a wake-up call for the Wolf Pack defense as it began to get some stops. Nevada outscored Idaho 14-6 in the final six minutes before the break. Luke Babbitt capped the Nevada spurt when his tip-in fell through the twine as the buzzer sounded on the initial 20 minutes.

Idaho helped its cause by knocking down 14 of 26 first-half shots, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.

Nevada is in action again Thursday when it goes to New Mexico State for a WAC clash against the Aggies. Tip-off is slated for 6:05 p.m. PST.