CALDWELL, Idaho - No. 1 College of Idaho showed in the final 20 minutes what helped led to a storybook season for the Yotes in 2022-23. Not wanting to rest on its laurels, the Yotes clamped down on defense to hold NCAA Division II Northwest Nazarene to 17 points and 22.2% shooting in the final 20 minutes on its way to a 72-57 win over its local rival. The last time a C of I opponent scored 17 or fewer points in a half was when the Yotes held the Geoducks of Evergreen to 17 on February 17, 2022.
Down by 10, 40-30 at halftime, College of Idaho started the second half with a 17-2 run to take a 47-45 lead on a jumper by O’Neil. The lead for C of I was its first since 4-2 with 18:07 left in the first half.
The last time that C of I trailed by double digits was in the last year’s season opener against Arizona Christian. Furthermore, the last time that College of Idaho erased a double-digit deficit at half and won was on December 17, 2016 against Corban. In that contest, College of Idaho erased a 41-27 lead by the Warriors before coming back to win 78-74.
Three Yotes - Samaje Morgan with 19, Jake O'Neil and Johnny Radford each scored 13 - put forth double-figure scoring. In the second 20 minutes, Morgan scored 12 of his 19 and O’Neil scored 11 of his 13.
For the Nighthawks, it was an exhibition game but there were plenty of bragging rights on the lines. NNU got a game-high from Gabriel Murphy, who nearly had a double double with 22 points and nine rebounds. He was joined in double figures by Ryzlin Bergersen, who had 16.
With O’Neil putting the Yotes ahead, the Nighthawks were able to get as close as two, 51-49, when Andrew Murphy banked in a 3-pointer with 10:55 left in the game. College of Idaho quickly squashed the comeback hopes with a decisive 21-4 run that put the Yotes ahead 72-53 with 2:35 to play.
The win is the third straight for the Yotes over the Nighthawks in the series and keeps the United Heritage Insurance Mayors’ Cup in the possession of College of Idaho. The three-game winning streak in the series is the first for C of I since they swept the series in back to-back years in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
The victory is also the 11th straight season opening home win for the Yotes and 73-28 overall in program history. Also, the win extends the home winning streak to 39 and extends college basketball longest winning streak to 38.
The contest is the first of five-straight home games for the Yotes, who will host a pair of in-season tournaments for the next two weekends.