Second Half Defense Carries Yotes Past Corban, 73-61
CALDWELL, Idaho –
Keun Palu-Thompson scored a game-high 20 points – including 11 in the second half – as the College of Idaho rallied from an 8-point halftime lead to defeat Corban University, 73-61, inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The No. 12 ranked Coyotes (8-4, 2-1 CCC) held Corban to just 28-percent shooting in the second half, with the Warriors finishing the game 35 points under their season scoring average.
Palu-Thompson got the Yotes going early, scoring C of I's first nine points – as built a 19-12 lead at the midway point of the opening period. The Warriors (8-4, 2-2) countered in a big way – holding the hosts to just one made field goal in the next nine minutes. Chris Martin hit consecutive triples in a 20-2 run, as Corban took a 34-23 lead on a Beau Tilleman lay-up – with the Oregon squad taking a 36-28 lead to the break.
The Coyotes turned the tide immediately in the second half –
Roosevelt Adams drained a trey and an 18-foot jumper; Palu-Thompson drove to the bucket for a deuce and fed
Nate Bruneel for a monster alley-oop dunk to give C of I the lead. Joel Johnson gave CU a brief 40-39 lead, but Palu-Thompson answered with a 3-pointer – to give the Yotes the lead for good.
C of I broke the game open midway through the half – as Palu-Thompson scored six points in a 15-3 run that gave the Yotes their largest lead of the night at 64-50 with 5:55 to play.
Bruneel had 11 points and nine rebounds,
Justin Saunders had 10 points, Adams had nine points and nine rebounds, with
Talon Pinckney scoring eight points, adding 10 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals. C of I made 7-of-10 free throws on the night – all in the final two minutes – and finished with a 47-42 rebound margin.
The Warriors were led by 11 points, six assists and five rebounds from A.J. Monterossi and Andrew Evans scored 10. CU made 52-percent of their first half field goal tries – but finished the game at 38-percent after making just 11-of-39 attempts in the second stanza.
C of I completes their 2017 home portion of their schedule tomorrow night, hosting Northwest Christian at 7:30 p.m. – with the game broadcast on 101.5 KOOL-FM.