Curtis Brever scored 21 in the Coyote win
Freshman Leads Coyotes Past Southern, 77-75
Mike Safford
CALDWELL, Idaho - Curtis Brever scored a career-high 21 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:22 remaining, as The College of Idaho rallied from a nine-point second half deficit to stop No. 21 ranked Southern Oregon, 77-75, inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
Box Score
The win for the Coyotes (10-10, 6-4 CCC) ended a 16-game losing streak against Top-25 foes - as the freshman canned four three-pointers and eclipsed his season total in points scored in 26 minutes of action.
Southern (15-6, 7-3) erased a 34-33 halftime deficit, dominating play early in the second half, as a pair of Eric Thompson free throws gave the Raiders their largest lead of the night at 63-54. Kyle Tedder gave the visitors a 70-62 lead on a three-pointer with 6:42 to play, but SOU went cold - making just 1-of-9 free throws over the final seven minutes. The Yotes capitalized, using an 11-0 run - taking the lead at 72-70 on a long Brever three-pointer with 4:36 left.
Taylor Roos got the Raiders even at 73-73 with a made free throw - but Brever canned an 18-foot baseline jumper to give the Yotes the lead and Miguel Rodriguez added two free throws to push the margin to 77-73 with 1:11 left. A Thompson lay-up made it a one possession game, and following a defensive stop, SOU had three cracks at tying or winning the game in the waning seconds. A Tedder three rimmed out, with David Sterner fouled on a putback attempt. Sterner missed both free throws, but Terriel Thomas tipped the rebound with two seconds left off a Coyote. Roos had a chance to win it with a three in the corner at the buzzer, but the shot fell well short.
SOU jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the first half, but an Antonio Garrett basket capped a 10-2 run by the hosts to give The C of I their first lead at 14-13. Four ties and five lead changes followed in the half - setting up the wild final 20 minutes.
Garrett had a huge night in the win, scoring 17 points and adding a career-high 19 rebounds - the most by a Coyote since Craig McGee pulled down 22 boards in a win over Corban. Ben Van Lith and Taylor Pruett each scored nine, with Rodriguez scoring seven points and adding seven assists. The Yotes made 44-percent of their field goal attempts and 9-of-10 free throws in the victory.
Thompson had 20 points in the loss for SOU, with Sturner recording 18 points and 10 rebounds. Thomas and Tedder each had 11 for the Raiders, who were dominated on the glass by the Yotes, 43-32 - as The C of I recorded 15 offensive rebounds.
The Yotes return to action tomorrow night, hosting defending NAIA Division II national champion Oregon Tech at 7:30 p.m.