C of I's Fast Start Spells Defeat for Northwest U.
KIRKLAND, Wash. - The College of Idaho came out firing on all cylinders tonight jumping out to a 10-0 lead and never looked back as they defeated the Eagles, 73-57 in Cascade Conference play in the Pavilion.
Kelvin Potts' 3-pointer at the 17:03 mark of the first half put C of I up 10-0. The Eagles would not score their first field goal until the 14:31 mark when senior Eddie Coulson's jumper would make the score 12-3. Sophomore Lucas Ashe's tip-in would make it 18-9 at the 12:32 mark and the Eagles would get to within four (23-19) on Ashe's 3-pointer with 8:58 remaining, but the Yotes would go on a 6-0 run to increase their lead to 10 points (29-19) with 6:30 to go in the half. Another 3-pointer by C of I's Potts would give the Yotes their biggest lead of the half, 41-24, at the 2:01 mark. C of I would take a 41-26 lead into the locker room at the break.
C of I would score the first four points of the second half to give them a 45-28 lead. Rich Skillman's jumper would make it 55-43 with 12:18 to go in the game, but a 9-1 run by the College of Idaho would build their lead to 64-44, with 7:29 to go. NU would out score C of I 13 to 9 the remaining portion of the game but it wouldn't be enough to make up the deficit.
For C of I it was their third straight win improving their season record to 8-8 and giving them a 4-2 conference record and third place in the standings. Northwest U. dropped to 10-7 over all and evened their CCC record at 4-4.
Northwest U. (10-7, 4-4 CCC), was led by sophomore Lucas Ashe's (Spokane, Wash.) game high 21 points and 5 rebounds. Freshman Rich Skillman (Everson, Wash.) added 11 points for the Eagles who shot 32% on the night from 2-point range and 27% from the 3-point line.
The College of Idaho (8-8, 4-2 CCC) was led by junior Kelvin Potts' (Oakland, Calif.) game high 26 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Craig McGee (Jr., Boise, Idaho) registered a double-double for the Coyotes with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Steffen Spinks (Manteca, Calif.) added 10 points and 8 rebounds for the victors from Caldwell, Idaho. C of I also out rebounded NU 42-30. The Yotes shot 49% from 2-point range and 43% from beyond the 3-point arc.
The College of Idaho travels to Olympia for a Sunday game with the Evergreen State College and the Eagles will host Eastern Oregon on Monday at 6 p.m. in the Pavilion.