Frontier Conference Teams Westminster and Lewis-Clark State win on Day 1 of Golden Rule Shoot-Out
CALDWELL, Idaho - Despite jumping out to an early 16-point lead, a ten-minute drought without a field goal doomed The College of Idaho, as Lewis-Clark State rallied to top the Yotes, 76-69, in the nightcap of the 23rd Annual Duane Wolfe Memorial Golden Rule Shoot-Out.
Westminster claimed the early game, rallying from a second half deficit to stop Northwest, 72-60.
The Coyotes (1-1) fired on all cylinders early, converting 9-of-11 field goal attempts, including six three-pointers, during an early run that built a 25-9 lead with 12:30 left in the half. Unfortunately, the well went dry for the hosts, as L-C held The C of I without a made field goal for ten minutes (spanning the two halves), drawing within 38-36 on a James Craft jumper early in the second stanza.
A pair of three's by Derek Gianukakis and Jared Giammona started a 9-0 run by the Warriors (5-1), building a 47-44 lead with 12:56 remaining - a lead they would not relinquish. The Yotes would get within one point three times - the last at 57-56, before the seven-foot Craft scored six straight points to put the game away.
Craft led all players with a career-high 24 points and eight rebounds, with Daniel Williams adding 18 - as the Warriors forced 17 C of I turnovers.
Matt Ballenger had a career-high 18 points and seven rebounds in the loss for the Yotes, with Steve Peres adding 17 points and five boards. Kelvin Potts scored 16, to go along with a career-high ten assists
In the early game, Blair Prowse scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Griffins (2-3) to the comeback win.
Westminster built a 40-31 lead with 13:48 remaining, but the Eagles (2-2) battled back, using a 13-3 run capped by a Blake Solomon trey to take their first lead of the game with just over nine minutes left. NU would hold a 52-51 lead before Westminster proved too much, using a 7-0 push, keyed by a Prowse trey, to put the game away.
Weston Anderson had 16 points for the Griffins, with Tanner Gregory adding 12 off the bench. Greg George led the Eagles with 19 points and eight rebounds, with Tyson Christie scoring 11.
The tournament concludes tomorrow night, with Northwest meeting Lewis-Clark State at 6 p.m., followed by Westminster and the Coyotes at 8 p.m.