Idaho senior Dandrick Jones (Dallas, TX/Trinidad State College) helped the Vandals forget some of their non-conference troubles as he played a key role in an upset of Utah State in the Big West opener for both teams, earning him Men’s Basketball Player of the Week honors.

Jones, a 6-3 guard/forward, mitigated some of the sting from his team’s 1-8 start as the Vandals shocked the Aggies 69-62 on Thursday. USU entered the game at 7-2 and was picked as one of the preseason favorities to win the league title. However, Jones paid no attention as he scored 17 points while adding nine rebounds, four assists and three steals in 30 minutes.

He had two key baskets in the waning minutes that sealed the victory. His putback dunk off a Tanoris Shepard miss put the Vandals up by five with 3:30 remaining. Idaho then led by three with 20 seconds left, but Jones drained a three from the baseline to increase the advantage to six.

Jones finished the game hitting 8-of-20 shots from the field and 1-of-4 from three-point territory. This is the first career Big West Player of the Week honor for the Vandals’ leading scorer.