Oregon Tech Spoils Coyotes Senior Night
CALDWELL, Idaho – Despite six players scoring in double figures, the College of Idaho could not stop a hot-shooting Oregon Tech squad, as the Owls upset the fourth-ranked Coyotes, 83-76, before over 2,000 fans inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The loss snapped a 14-game win streak for the Coyotes (24-6, 18-2 CCC) and was their first home defeat since October. Despite the setback, C of I will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Cascade Conference Championships and will host eighth-seed Northwest University this Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the tourney quarterfinals.
OIT (21-9) came out blazing from the field, making their first five shots – including four 3-pointers – taking a 14-5 edge, minutes into the contest. The Coyotes would claw back within 26-24 on an
Aziz Leeks lay-up, but Jalen Carvalho drained a jumper, Tyler Hieb canned a long trey and Mitchell Fink splashed a 15-footer, to extend the margin to nine.
The visitors took a 45-38 lead into the second half – a margin they would extend to 66-56 with 12 minutes remaining. The Yotes would cut the deficit to four on three occasions – the last on two
Roosevelt Adams free throws with just under three minutes left at 75-71. Enter Fink, who connected on a contested 23-footer as the shot clock expired on Tech's next possession, with the Owls making 8-of-10 free throws to seal their third win on the Yotes home court in the past three seasons.
Nate Bruneel led the Yotes with 16 points, with
Keun Palu-Thompson scoring 14 – including four 3-pointers.
Talon Pinckney had 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds; Leeks had 12 points, with
Gibson Berryhill and Adams each scoring 10. The loss spoiled the Senior Night for five Coyotes – Leeks, Adams, Matthew Duniphan,
Dominic Hulsey and
Elliott Pitts.
Fink led all scorers with 23 points – 16 coming after the break – adding seven assists. Carvalho had 14 points and five rebounds, with Seth Erickson scoring 12. OIT hit 55-percent of their field goals, including 11-of-22 from 3-point range, while making 19-of-21 from the stripe.