Kelvin Potts scored a game-high 23 in Yotes win over NNU
CALDWELL, Idaho - Kelvin Potts scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the second half, as The College of Idaho knocked off NCAA Division II Northwest Nazarene, 79-72, in the United Heritage Tip-Off before a standing-room only crowd of 2,422 in the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The win for the NAIA No. 8 ranked Coyotes (1-0) was their sixth win in eight tries against their Canyon County rivals - and their 112th victory in 184 all-time meetings in the longest collegiate basketball rivalry in the State of Idaho.
The Yotes used an early 9-0 run, capped by a Craig McGee free throw, to take an 18-12 lead midway through the first half, with Matt Ballenger canned a long three-point just before the final horn to build a 39-32 halftime edge. However, the Crusaders - playing the game as their final exhibition of the season, scored the first eight points of the second half, with Brian Barkdoll's tough lay-up giving NNU a 41-39 edge.
The teams would see-saw through eight ties and nine lead changes, before a Potts jumper with just under ten minutes to play gave The C of I the lead for good at 54-52. The margin would swell to 66-59 after back-to-back Brian Bergerson treys, before NNU would make a late charge, clawing within 66-64 on a pair of Kendall Gielow freebies. Potts would put it away, recording back-to-back three-point plays on driving lay-ups, with Steve Peres converting 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch for the win.
Peres had 14 points for the Yotes, with Bergerson coming off the bench to score all 12 of his points in the second half. McGee had 11 points and ten rebounds, Ballenger added ten points and eight boards in his collegiate debut, with Noah Gottlieb scoring eight points, with seven rebounds and six assists.
Barkdoll led NNU with 19 points, with Gielow having a monster night with 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Drew Eisinger chipped in with 15 points.
The Yotes will have ten days off before hosting the 23rd Annual Duane Wolfe Memorial Golden Rule Shootout a week from Friday, meeting Lewis-Clark State at 8 p.m.