Coyotes Remain Perfect in Overtime Thriller
CALDWELL, Idaho – Sydney Donaldson drilled three of his game-high four three-pointers in overtime as No.7 College of Idaho survived 80-68 against the No.15 ranked NAIA Division I Westminster College in front of a full J.A. Albertson Activities Center Friday night.
Marko Kovacevic took a pass from Donaldson and gave the Yotes a two-point lead with 43-seconds remaining in regulation. Jordan Pryor brought the ball down for Westminster (0-5) and hit a go-ahead three with 27-seconds left. C of I brought the ball down, looking to find the tie or possibly hit a game-winning three, but would turn the ball back over to Westminster with eleven seconds remaining in the contest. Kevin Woodard would go-on to hit both free-throws to set the stage for the dramatic finish.
Trailing by three points with 10.6-seconds remaining in regulation, Josh Wilson brought the ball up the floor, dished the rock to Donaldson who skipped it to Demetrius Perkins who took two dribbles and heaved up an off-balance, desperation prayer for overtime; the prayer was answered and the Activities Center was sent into pandemonium and an extra five-minutes of basketball.
As soon as the ball was tipped in overtime, Donaldson took over and the Coyotes (8-0) never looked back, shooting a perfect five-for-five from the field, including four-of-four from three-point territory.
"Phenomenal job of Sydney stepping up and knocking down shots," Scott Garson said. "All those shots were a result of excellent ball movement and passing, which is something we had been doing a better job of in previous games."
Wilson scored two of his game twenty points with 4:23 left in regulation to give the Yotes a 57-50 advantage, but the Griffins would come storming back, going on a 12-2 run to force the Perkins heave at the buzzer.
Kovacevic recorded a double-double, scoring ten points and pulling down 12 of C of I's 42 rebounds on the night, out-numbering Westminster on the boards by nine.
Woodard scored a team-high 19-points for the Griffins, including three steals in the loss. Quincy Bair added another 15 for Westminster, shooting 50% from the floor on the night.
As a team, C of I forced 16 steals, including six from Wilson and another five from Joey Nebeker. The Yotes also blocked ten shots on the night, including a career-high five blocks from Donaldson.
The 8-0 record ties the 1995-96 National Championship squad as the best start in program history. The Coyotes also extended their home winning streak to 21 games as Scott Garson remained unbeaten inside the state of Idaho.
"Our home crowd was fantastic; they gave us a huge lift in the second half and through overtime in tonight's game," Garson added. "It makes really tough for teams to come in and play in this environment. We love being in Caldwell."
The Coyotes will close out the weekend home stand tomorrow night against Montana State-Northern (7-2), as they look to become the first C of I team to start a season 9-0; tip-off against the Lights is at 7 p.m.