Late 3's Help Yotes Advance to NAIA Semifinals - Cascade Collegiate Conference Skip To Main Content

Cascade Collegiate Conference

Late 3's Help Yotes Advance to NAIA Semifinals

Late 3's Help Yotes Advance to NAIA Semifinals

Bookmark and Share

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Late 3-pointers from Nate Bruneel and Gibson Berryhill provided the difference as the College of Idaho outlasted fourth-ranked Morningside College, 62-59, in the national quarterfinals of the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Championship inside Sanford Pentagon.
 
The Coyotes (31-5) tied a school record with their 31st victory on the year and advance to the national semifinals for the second-straight year and third time in school history – meeting Cascade Conference rival Oregon Tech on Monday night at 6 p.m. (CDT) for a berth in the NAIA title game.
 
Facing the top-seed in the Cramer Bracket and Great Plains Athletic Conference champion, the Yotes used a big first half run to take a 35-25 lead to the locker room, only to see the Mustangs (29-4) pull even at 52-52 inside the final three minutes.
 
Bruneel canned a go-ahead triple as the shot clock expired to give C of I a 55-52 lead, while Berryhill hit a long 3-pointer off a set play with one minute left to extend the margin to 58-54.  The Yotes forced a MC miss – with Bruneel scoring in transition off a Keun Palu-Thompson pass – and C of I made their free throws to seal the victory.
 
Defense was the key in the first half, as the Yotes erased a 16-14 MC lead with a 16-3 run – holding the Mustangs to just 33-percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes. Palu-Thompson had a 4-point play in the surge, with Talon Pinckney scoring seven-straight points, as the lead ballooned to 30-19.
 
C of I went ice cold to open the second half, as Tyler Borchers converted back-to-back baskets and Zach Imig drained a 3-pointer in a 9-0 run to get the Iowa school back in the contest.  Trey Brown got the Mustangs even at 46-46 with 10 minutes to go, before the defenses took over the rest of the way.
 
Pinckney led the Coyotes with 19 points, with Bruneel scoring 11 and Palu-Thompson nine. C of I made 44-percent of their field goals and knocked down 8-of-10 free throws, while committing just eight turnovers.
 
Borchers led MC with 24 points and seven rebounds – with the Mustangs making 52-percent of their fied goals after the break.  The 59 points scored was a season-low for MC and was the 35th-straight win by C of I when holding an opponent under 60 points.
 
Monday's national semifinal will be the third time C of I and OIT have met this season – as both teams traded 3-point home wins during the CCC season – and the . The two clubs are the lone CCC teams to win a men's basketball national title, C of I winning the crown in 1996, with OIT winning titles in 2004, 2008 and 2012 – with the game the second time CCC teams have met at the National Tournament (as OIT defeated Northwest Nazarene 82-75 in the 1998 national semifinals).
 

Sponsors