Big Second Half Lifts Yotes Past Mayville State, 66-50
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The College of Idaho rode the top defense in the Cascade Conference to a league title. This afternoon inside the Sanford Pentagon, Mayville State experienced the pressure.
Using a 19-4 run over the first 11 minutes of the second half, the Coyotes (28-6) rolled to a 66-50 victory over the Comets in the first-round of the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Championships, presented by Cypress Risk Management.
The No. 1-seed out of the Duer Bracket will meet No. 5-seed Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) in the second-round – tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. (MT). It marks the third-straight trip to the NAIA Championships that C of I and DWU will meet, with the Yotes winning in the 2017 first-round, while the Tigers eliminated C of I in the 2015 quarterfinals. The game will be carried live on 99.1-FM ESPN Boise.
"That was a really good Mayville State team," said head coach
Scott Garson. "They played so hard. I was proud of how we made the adjustments in the second half and used our defense to create transition opportunities."
Leading 32-28 at the break, the Yotes opened the second half with a quick steal from
Talon Pinckney and a fastbreak lay-up from
Keun Palu-Thompson – C of I's first transition points of the night. Following an inside basket by Garek Droog by the Comets (18-11), the champions of the North Star Athletic Association, the Yotes clamped down defensively – holding MSU to just one made field goal over a nine minute stretch to blow the game open.
Aziz Leeks converted a jump hook and
Roosevelt Adams added a driving lay-up and a long 3-pointer to stretch the margin to 41-30. Following a Cameron Pfau floater in the lane for the Comets,
Nate Bruneelscored five straight points – including a corner triple – with Adams adding a trey of his own and Matthew Duniphan converted a put-back basket give the Coyotes a 51-32 with nine minutes to go.
Bruneel led the Yotes with 14 points, including a perfect 3-of-3 shooting from outside the arc, with Pinckney adding 13 points and Adams scoring 12 off the bench. Leeks, facing a double-team all afternoon, had nine points, nine rebounds and four assists.
"Aziz did an outstanding job in the second half recognizing the double team," Garson said. "He was patient and was able to locate our shooters for wide open looks."
MSU played even with C of I in the opening half, erasing an early 15-12 Coyote lead, as Gorg Alhag hit a 3-pointer and a mid-range jumper and Eric Staebler converted on the low block. The game was tied at 23-23 before a Pinckney driving lay-up started a 9-2 C of I run just before the break, giving the Yotes a lead they would not surrender.
Garek Droog led MSU with 16 points, with Alhag scoring 13 – as the North Dakota team was limited to 39-percent shooting for the night.
C of I dominated the glass, recording a 46-21 rebound margin – their 19th-straight victory on the boards.
NOTES: The Yotes improved to 3-1 in NAIA Tournament first-round games under Garson – with the 16-point margin the largest of the three victories – and the biggest first-round win by a C of I team since 2004 (77-60 over Tabor)…C of I had about 50 fans make the trip from the Treasure Valley, while MSU had nearly 200 fans make the 300-mile drive down I-29…it was the sixth time the Yotes have held an opponent to 50 points or under this season.