Late 3's Help Yotes Advance to NAIA Semifinals
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).