Yotes Clinch Home Playoff Game with Win Over Southern
CALDWELL, Idaho – Equaling their most prolific scoring half of the season, the College of Idaho used a 54-point outburst after halftime to sprint past Southern Oregon, 87-70, inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The Coyotes (20-8, 13-5 CCC) extended their season-high win streak to six games – vaulting into a tie for third-place in the Cascade Conference standings. C of I also clinched a CCC Tournament quarterfinal home date, set for Feb. 22.
After eight ties and 10 lead changes over the first 25 minutes of the contest, a
Roosevelt Adams lay-up sparked an 11-0 C of I run that broke a 44-44 tie – igniting the large, partisan crowd, on Basque Heritage Night. Four free throws by the Raiders (17-11, 11-7) cut the margin to 67-60 with eight minutes on the clock, but a Morgan lay-up, a long
Dominique Jordan triple and an
Aziz Leeks dunk pushed the lead back to double-digits – as the Coyotes made 53-percent of their second half field goal attempts, including seven treys.
Joey Nebeker led C of I with 17 points, while
Aitor Zubizarreta – a Basque Country native – scored 16 points, making 4-of-6 3-point attempts, while opening the game with a backdoor alley-oop lay-in. Jordan scored 12 points, going 4-of-7 from long range; Morgan had 11 points and six rebounds; and Adams scored eight points with a game-high 11 rebounds.
Kenny Meyer scored eight of his 13 points in the first half for SOU, with Tristen Holmes scoring 11 and Ben DeSaulnier adding 10. Southern finished with 15 turnovers – leading to 21 C of I points.
The No. 25 ranked Coyotes continue their homestand Thursday night, hosting No. 16 ranked Eastern Oregon at 7:30 p.m.
NOTES: The Yotes have won at least 20 games for the 22nd time and the third 20-win season in the last four years; C of I made 13-of-14 free throws – the top percentage by the club this season.