Perkins Scores 32pts in Yotes Win C of I Advances to Elite Eight at NAIA Men's Basketball Championships 3/14/2015 10:44:19 AM POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – Demetrius Perkins scored a career-high 32 points and the College of Idaho hit a school record 95-percent of their free throw attempts in defeating Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) in the second round of the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship inside Keeter Gymnasium. The victory for the Coyotes (30-5) moves the squad into tomorrow's national quarterfinals, meeting No. 5 seed Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) at 4 p.m. The game will be carried live on 630-AM "The Fan". C of I used a 60-point second half to break away from the 2013 NAIA champs, as the No. 20 ranked Wolves (25-10) fell victim to a bevy of foul shots and the Yotes fast-paced style. "We played Coyote basketball tonight," said Perkins, who scored 23 second half points, making 16-of-17 free throws in the win. "We determined how we were going to play tonight – uptempo, pressing, trapping, unselfish basketball." Leading 39-35 at halftime, the Yotes blitzed CSU in the first three minutes of the second stanza, as Josh Wilson posted up for a deuce, Perkins converted back-to-back baskets, and Joey Nebeker drained a corner 3-pointer to give C of I a 50-38 lead. Minutes later, the Yotes used a 9-2 run, including an inside basket from Marko Kovacevic and an Emanuel Morgan triple to push the margin to 66-48 at the 12 minute mark. "At the end of the day, what more can you say about Marko Kovacevic and Demetrius Perkins," head coach Scott Garson said. "They were outstanding. We received great play from our bench tonight. Marck Coffin and Manny Morgan played great and Jordan O'Byrne stepped up with a couple big shots." The Coyotes sealed the victory at the foul line, making their final 22 attempts in a row over the last six minutes. C of I was 39-of-41 from the stripe, with the 95-percent clip the best in program history, eclipsing a 30-for-32 night at the line vs. George Fox during the 1994-95 season. Kovacevic had 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds in the win, as C of I held a 36-27 edge on the glass. "We dominated the physical play and the inside part of the paint," Garson said. The teams traded baskets early, as CSU built a 13-9 lead on a Garrett Brogrud basket, but C of I responded, as a Perkins 3-point play midway through the half giving C of I a 24-23 lead – a lead they would not relinquish. The senior finished one-point shy of the 1,000 point mark for his career, looking to become the 20th Coyote player to reach the club. Sydney Donaldson scored 15 points and Coffin added a career-high 10 in the victory, as the Yotes will play in the national quarterfinals for the seventh time and first time since 2001. The win gave C of I their second 30-win season in program history. All-America guard Tony Smit led the Wolves with 30 points, his sixth 30-or-more point night of the season. Tyler Semenas had 19 points and seven steals, with Brogrud scoring 13 in the loss