Coyotes Clinch CCC Regular-Season Championship
PORTLAND, Ore. – Defense wins championships – and for the College of Idaho, it proved true tonight at C.C. Perry Gym, as the Coyotes used a dominant second half performance to clinch the Cascade Conference regular-season title, topping 13th-ranked Warner Pacific, 64-55 for their 13th-straight win.
The Yotes (23-5, 17-1 CCC) secured their third league crown in the past five seasons, punching their ticket to the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Championships, to be held in Sioux Falls, S.D., the second week in March.
Trailing 41-35 with 14:22 left in the contest, C of I limited the Knights (18-8, 13-5) to just two made field goals over an 8-minute stretch. The Yotes offense found their rhythm, using a 17-4 run to command. Back-to-back lay-ups by
Talon Pinckney gave the Coyotes a 43-41 edge, their first lead since the early moments of the game, while seven points from
Roosevelt Adams, including a 3-pointer, pushed the lead to 54-47 with seven minutes left.
WPU would not quit, as a three-point play from Xavier Cannefax cut the gap to 59-54 with two minutes remaining – but the Yotes made 3-of-4 free throws and Adams capped the win with a tip-in basket – to begin the celebration.
It marks the fifth time C of I has won the outright regular-season title, joining the 1996, 2004, 2014, 2015 teams to claim the crown – with the 1996 team winning the NAIA title, with the 2015 team advancing to the national quarterfinals.
Pinckney had 16 points in the win – including nine in the first half to keep the Yotes in the contest, as WPU built a 25-17 lead. Adams scored 13 points with 10 rebounds;
Keun Palu-Thompson had nine points and six boards; with both
Jake Bruner and
Nate Bruneel scoring seven.
De'Jon Bowman scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half for the Knights – as the home squad was held to a season low point total. Cannefax scored 14 in the loss, as WPU made just 3-of-17 3-point attempts on the night.
The Yotes return home to close out the regular-season, hosting Southern Oregon on Friday and Oregon Tech on Saturday.