SALEM, Ore. – On a night where the Corban University men's basketball team honored its five seniors—Elijah Welch, Jason Smarr, Dominique Lawrence, AJ Hodges, and Mike Seng—the No. 1-ranked College of Idaho Yotes earned a celebration of their own, becoming the Cascade Collegiate Conference's (CCC) first-ever men's basketball team to complete an undefeated (20-0) league season with their 69-54 win over the Warriors.
"We competed versus the No. 1 team in the country, but we had a hard time finding shots against their matchup," said head coach Mitch Freeman. "We got to give credit to them, they are the most physical and aggressive team in the league. Our guys battled and kept them under 70 points, but we couldn't keep them out of the paint."
"Senior night is always tough!" added Freeman, when asked about the emotions surrounding the evening. "I love being able to honor our five seniors that have given their all to this program! They are family and we love them."
The No. 1-ranked Coyotes (27-3, 20-0 CCC) join their 1954-55 counterparts as the only C of I teams in the 109-year history of the program to finish a season unbeaten in conference play. The Elgin Baylor-R.C. Owens led the team to a 15-0 mark in Northwest Conference competition.
In addition, the Yotes extended their school-record win streak to 21 games, which is now the fourth-longest in all of college basketball.
It won't be long until the squads meet again, as Corban will serve as the No. 8 seed in the upcoming CCC Championships, setting the two teams up for a rematch in the conference quarterfinals. The Navy and Gold narrowly edged the Multnomah Lions for the spot, advancing via the Sempert system of tiebreaking.
On Saturday, the Yotes stormed out of the gates to the tune of a 12-2 run after the tip. They remained in control for the rest of the period, taking a 17-point advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Corban opened the second half with a 13-2 run, however, cutting the C of I lead to as little as six in an attempt to conjure some Senior-Day magic. In the end, the high-powered Yotes' would withstand the rally, riding a dominant performance at the rim to the historic victory.
College of Idaho outscored the Navy and Gold 26-8 in the paint, led by 17 points from Nate Bruneel and 14 points from Ivory Miles-Williams off the bench.
In reserve, Tyler Wadleigh once again excelled for Freeman and company, notching a game-high 19 points in the defeat. Smarr closed out his regular-season career on a high note, adding 17 points on 7-of-11 (3-of-5 3PT) shooting.
Unsurprisingly, C of I will serve as the No. 1 seed for the upcoming conference tournament, hosting the eighth-seeded Warriors (13-17, 7-13 CCC) on Wednesday evening down in Caldwell, Idaho in the CCC Quarterfinals. Tip-off for the battle is slated for 7 p.m. MST.