CCC Men's Basketball Championship presented by U.S. Bank Concludes Tonight in Caldwell
LA GRANDE, Ore. – With both programs already assured a spot in the NAIA championship tournament, the 2014 Cascade Conference Men’s Basketball Championship presented by U.S. Bank should still see a great championship game tonight at Northwest Christian travels to College of Idaho to play for the trophy.
No. 6 Northwest Christian (18-12, 10-8 CCC) at No. 1 College of Idaho (27-5, 16-2 CCC)
7 p.m. MST – Caldwell, Idaho
With College of Idaho already having earned the CCC’s automatic spot in the national tournament as the regular season champion, Northwest Christian clinched the second berth to Branson on Saturday. Both teams still have a lot to play for as the conference title game as Tuesday’s title game could go a long way in determining seeding at the national tournament.
The top-seeded Yotes advanced to the title game behind 20 points and 11 rebounds from Taylor Pruett as C o I held off Oregon Tech, 77-57. Ranked third nationally, College of Idaho won for the 14th-straight time as they look to keep the winning streak alive through the month of March.
Northwest Christian clinched their spot to the national tournament and advanced to the conference title game with a 71-67 win at Northwest on Saturday night. Spencer Coleman led the Beacons with a game-high 24 points while Austin Kuemper finished with 21 on the night.
College of Idaho currently holds a 2-0 advantage over NCU this season, having won 71-62 on Jan. 18 in Caldwell and 74-72 on Feb. 14 in Eugene. Both C of I head coach Scott Garson and NCU head coach Luke Jackson are in their first year at their respective schools.
The 32-team field for the 2014 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship will be released on Wednesday, with play set to begin a week later on March 12 at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Mo.