Glendale, Ariz. – The No. 3 College of Idaho men’s basketball team erased a 10-point first half deficit to a two-point lead at the half en route to an 83-72 win over OUAZ on Saturday afternoon.
For the second game in a row, the Yotes (1-1) found themselves down by double digits, 26-16, with seven minutes left in the first 20 minutes. The experienced College of Idaho squad came back with a 16-4 run to end the first half for a 32-30 lead at the break. The punctuation mark to the run was a 3-pointer by freshman Samaje Morgan, who finished with 11 points and six assists in his second game at the College of Idaho.
Morgan was one of four Yotes in double figures in the win as Charles Elzie scored 17 as he was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Drew Wyman added 12 and Johnny Radford provided 10 to the win. The versatile roster for College of Idaho saw reserve Straton Rogers have a career day with seven points and a team-high nine rebounds in 20 minutes of action.
The Spirit (1-1), who were hungry to avenge a loss in the 2022 NAIA Opening Round, were paced by a game-high 20-point effort from Kolten Hitt, who knocked down three 3-pointers. He was joined in double figures by Josiah De’laCerda (15), Alex Villi (12) and Keshawn Bruner (11).
After leading by two at half, College of Idaho shot 57.1% from the field in the final 20 minutes where Elzie scored 15 of his 17 for the Yotes. It was the defense for College of Idaho that kept OUAZ from making a comeback as they held the Spirit to 48.1% shooting and a 21-to-11 margin on the boards.
The next six games for the Yotes are going to be at the friendly confines of the J.A. Albertson Activities Center where they have won 26 of its last 29 games. The home stretch gets underway with the Domino’s Classic when they host Montana Western on Friday, November 18 at 7 p.m.