Northwest U. would pull away early to lead 12-8 five minutes into the game as Rich Skillman would hit Greg George for a layup, but the Yotes from Caldwell, Idaho would battle back to take the lead, 17-16, after a missed NU 3-point attempt and C of I’s Krispin Banks would hit two free throws after being fouled in the paint. Daley Landon would give NU a 19-17 lead once again as he would drain a trey from the corner to start a 7-3 Eagle run which would find them leading, 26-20 with 5:25 to go in the half. But the C of I would battle back once again and outscore the Eagles 12-6 over the next two minutes to tie the score at 32-32 with 1:38 left on the clock. The teams would trade baskets and Ahmaad Cook’s driving layup with 6 seconds to go would knot the score up at 37-all as the teams would leave the court for halftime.

 

With the score tied 39-39 at the start of the second half, the College of Idaho would take a four point lead on Matt Ballenger’s drive to the basket, 43-39, with 17:39 on the clock. Ballenger would nail a 3-pointer 20 seconds later to increase the Yotes' lead to 46-41. NU would then make four of six free throws to make it a one point ball game 46-45 at the 15:45 mark. Back would come NU and Greg Peters would tip in a missed 3-point try to tie the score at 48-all with 12:43 remaining in the game. A steal by NU’s Rich Skillman and dunk would give the Eagles the lead for good with 12:20 to go and Tyson Christie’s baseline layup would increase the NU lead to eight, 57-49 with 9:14 left to play. A 5-2 C of I run would pull the Yotes to within two points, 59-57 on a Steve Peres 3-pointer (7:19), but NU would outscore the C of I 12-4 to lead 71-61 with just 3:10 to play. Northwest would hit 6 of 8 free throws along Greg George dunk to increase their lead to 14, 82-68 with 49 seconds to go which would end the scoring for the game.

 

Five Eagles scored in double figures for Northwest U. (20-7, 13-5 CCC) led by senior Greg George’s (Seattle, Wash.) 18 points. Junior Rich Skillman (Everson, Wash.) scored 16 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Tyson Christie (Sherwood, Ore.) contributed 11 points and Ahmaad Cook (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Jordan Call (Juanita, Wash.) each had 10 points for NU. Greg Peters (Belmont, St. Vincent) had a game high 15 rebounds. Northwest shot 45% for the game, but were held to 25% shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. NU out rebounded C of I 47-30 including 18 offensive rebounds.

 

"It was a good team victory tonight," stated Eagle head coach John Van Dyke. "They'll be fresh in our minds when we see them again next Wednesday and I know we can expect another competitive game with them. It was a good way to celebrate senior night and close out the regular season."

 

The College of Idaho (13-16, 10-8 CCC) was led by Matt Ballenger’s game high 26 points. Steve Peres added 14 points and center Krispin Banks scored 11 points for the Coyotes. C of I shot 45% for the game including 43% from the 3-point line. Ballenger hit 50% of his shots (9-18) on the night.

Box score attached.