Glendale, Arizona – A matchup of two teams ranked within the top three in the NAIA Preseason Poll went head to head as No. 3 College of Idaho took on No. 1 Arizona Christian on Friday night.
College of Idaho (0-1) trailed for most of the contest but managed to have two looks at a go-ahead shot in the final 17 seconds that came up short before a pair of free throws by Bryce Davis sealed the win for the host Firestorm.
Arizona Christian (2-0) shot 70.8% from the field in the first 20 minutes on its way to a 57.4% effort from the field. The 57.4% shooting percentage is the highest by a Yotes opponent since Oregon Tech on March 11, 2019 as the Owls made 57.6% from the field. The Firestorm were led by a 23-point effort from Paul Hayden, who made 11 of 18 shots from the field. He was joined in double figures by Trent Hudgens and Davis, who had 17 and 15 points, respectively.
“At the end of the day, we had the ball in our hands with a shot to tie or win the game. I can’t ask for much more than that,” said College of Idaho head coach Colby Blaine. “I am really proud of our fight and grit in the last 10 minutes. However, you can’t give an elite team a 15-point lead.”
The Yotes’ Johnny Radford kept College of Idaho in the game in the first 20 minutes scoring 16 of the 38 points for College of Idaho on the strength of four 3-pointers. His first 3-pointer of the season tied the game at eight with 15:29 left in the opening stanza. The two teams traded baskets for the second and final tie of the game at 10 with 13:29 left in the first 20 minutes. A 10-3 spurt by the host Firestorm put them ahead for the remainder of the game.
Down 70-55 with 9:41 left to play, the experienced and a resilient College of Idaho squad mounted a comeback with a 19-6 run that cut the deficit to two, 76-74, when Caden Handran made a basket with 2:03 left to play. The game remained one possession for the next two minutes until Davis sealed the win for the host Firestorm.
Despite the loss, there were multiple positives for the Yotes to come away with including a six point and eight rebound effort from reserve Straton Rogers. In his C of I debut, Samaje Morgan had eight points before fouling out and College of Idaho made ten 3-pointers. It was the Yotes first loss when making 10 3-pointers in a game since an 88-74 loss to NCAA Division I Portland on December 15, 2020.
Next, College of Idaho will face an OUAZ squad that they defeated by a 57-52 margin in the NAIA Opening Round finals in Caldwell, last season.