Yotes Take CCC Lead With Win Over #16 Warner Pacific
CALDWELL, Idaho –
Aziz Leeks and
Roosevelt Adams posted double-doubles for the second straight game and the College of Idaho defense limited Warner Pacific to their lowest point total in the league tilt since 2009, rolling to a 76-56 win before over 1,700 fans inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The No. 8 ranked Coyotes (13-5, 7-1 CCC) took over sole possession of first-place in the league standings, holding the No. 16 Knights to 30 points below their season scoring average – and their lowest point total since scoring just 56 points in a loss at Oregon Tech during the 2008-09 season.
An early 7-0 run by the Yotes, capped by the first of four 3-pointers from Adams, erased a 5-4 WPC (13-5, 8-2) lead – their last of the night. After the Knight cut the gap to 16-13 on a Xavier Cannefax free throw, C of I ran off 12 of the next 15 points – capped by a monster alley-oop dunk from
Nate Bruneel – taking a 28-16 lead with five minutes left in the period.
WPC cut the deficit to six points twice in the second half – the second after Cannefax closed a six-point surge with a driving lay-up. Adams answered quickly with a reverse lay-up and a triple to extend the lead to double-digits – with the Yotes holding the Knights without a made field goal over a five-minute stretch late in the contest. Leeks had a big dunk, a lay-up and a late 3-pointer to push the margin above 20 points.
Adams finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, going 4-of-8 from 3-point range, with Leeks draining 7-of-8 field goals, scoring 16 points with 15 rebounds – his league-leading tenth double-double of the year.
Talon Pinckney had 13 points and six assists, with Bruneel scoring 13 in the victory – as the Coyotes held a 45-32 edge on the glass and forced 16 turnovers.
Cannefax led WPC with 16 points and Collin Malcolm had 10 – with the Knights limited to just 40-percent shooting from the field in the loss – ending a three-game win streak.
C of I returns to action tomorrow night, hosting Multnomah at 7:30 p.m. – live on 99.1-FM ESPN Boise.