Brian Bergerson scored 18 second half points in C of I win
CALDWELL, Idaho - Brian Bergerson tied a career-high with 18 points, all in the second half, as The College of Idaho shook off a sluggish first half to blow past Portland Bible, 82-59, in the nightcap of Day 1 of the 2009 Wendy’s Holiday Classic inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
In the opener, Northwest Nazarene head coach Tim Hills picked up his 500th collegiate coaching victory in the Crusaders 81-78 over Montana Western.
The host Coyotes (3-5) jumped out to an early lead, but watched as the third-year program gain command late in the first half, taking a 36-30 lead with three minutes left on a Tim Mahan trey. However, The C of I scored the final seven points of the period, taking a one-point lead to the locker room on a three-point play from guard Noah Gottlieb.
The Wildcats (10-5), members of the National Christian College Athletic Association, held a 47-45 with 16-minutes remaining on a Juston Coleman lay-up, but Bergerson took over, canning a trey to give the Yotes the lead for good, sparking a 26-5 run over the next ten minutes to put the game away. The senior hit 6-of-7 shots in the period, including four three-point buckets, in the win, to go along with a career-high nine rebounds.
Matt Ballenger had 17 points and seven boards, with Steve Peres, Kelvin Potts, and Gottlieb all scoring 11.
Stephen McCall led PBC with 20 points, with big man Michael Cooper adding ten points and a team-high nine rebounds.
In the early game, Hills joined the 500-win club after his squad erased an early deficit – notching the milestone victory in his 34th season, with previous stops at Chemeketa CC, Corban College, and Western Oregon University.
Louie Beech scored 15 of his season-high 23 points in the first half, as NNU (6-1) improved to 5-0 all-time in the tournament.
Western (10-4) jumped out to a quick 12-3 lead, but the Crusaders rattled off ten-straight points to take their first lead of the night. The teams would exchange the lead eight times before a pair of Beech free throws gave NNU the lead for good at 35-33, with the Crusaders taking a 41-36 lead to the break.
NNU would take their biggest lead of the night at 66-54, but the Bulldogs would chip away, using a 11-3 run to get within 69-65 on a Layne Glaus lay-up with four minutes remaining. Western would get three-straight defensive stops, but could not get closer.
Drew Eisinger had 13 points, with Jamie Eisinger, Kendall Gielow, and David Reeher each scoring eight for the Crusaders. Terry Hauser led Western with 24 points, with Cody Thueringer had 12, with Glaus adding 11. The Bulldogs leading scorer, JaRon Brown, was limited to eight points by foul trouble – seeing just 17 minutes of action.
Day 2 of the tournament features NNU meeting Portland Bible at 6 p.m., with Western and the Coyotes tangling at 8 p.m.