Yotes Hold Off Late OIT Rally, Win League Opener 71-68
CALDWELL, Idaho – Matt Van Tassell missed a desperation 30-footer at the buzzer, as the College of Idaho held off a late Oregon Tech flurry to open Cascade Conference play with a 71-68 victory inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
Talon Pinckney scored 15 points and Nate Bruneel had 13 points and eight rebounds – as the second-ranked Coyotes (12-1, 1-0 CCC) improved to 6-0 at home this season heading into tomorrow's 7:30 p.m. showdown with No. 13 ranked Southern Oregon.
C of I built a 69-61 lead with three minutes to play after key buckets from Jake Bruner and Pinckney – but the Owls (8-4, 0-1) did not allow a made field goal the rest of the night. Seth Erickson drained a fade-away jumper in the paint and Mitchell Fink scored five-straight points – including a long 3-pointer with 55 seconds left, to pull OIT within 70-68. After a defensive stop, the No. 22-ranked team in the NAIA put the ball in Fink's hands – but the All-American lost control of a drive with three seconds remaining.
Keun-Palu Thompson split a pair of free throws to extend the lead to three, but OIT had a last gasp – as Fink raced up floor and found Van Tassell, who heave at the horn missed short.
OIT opened the game on an 11-6 run – but C of I countered with a 13-2 surge, getting a 3-point play and a 3-pointer from Bruneel in the flurry. Leading 33-26 with four minutes left in the half, Tech ran off 16 of the next 20 points spanning the periods, building a 42-37 lead after a long Tyler Hieb 3-pointer.
The Yotes returned the favor, as a Bruneel 3-ball and a put-back dunk started a 24-8 run. Posts Matt Meyers and Connor Desaulniers each had 3-point plays and Gibson Berryhill capped the push with a triple on a fast break – giving C of I a 59-48 lead with 10 minutes left.
Tech countered again – holding C of I without a made field goal for five minutes – getting within 63-61 on a Van Tassell 3-pointer and had two cracks at tying the score. The Coyote defense held strong, with Pinckney converting two free throws to start the six-point run that set up the finish.
Pinckney finished with four rebounds, four assists and three steals, with Meyers scoring eight points with eight boards and both Palu-Thompson and Justin Saunders scoring eight. C of I made 54-percent of their second half field goals and held a 40-35 edge on the glass – including 13 second-chance points.
Fink scored 14 to lead Tech, but was held to 5-of-14 shooting due to a smothering C of I defense. Erickson had 12 points and six assists and Hieb scored 11 – as the Owls finished the night madding just 39-percent from the field.