Concordia (5-4, 1-1 CCC) scored the first seven points in the game, which included an impressive alley-oop dunk from Jourdan Sweeney off a pass from Kevan West.

College of Idaho (4-7, 0-2 CCC) steadily inched back in the game from there, though, until a 13-2 CU run pushed the Cavs’ lead to 35-21 with only 3:10 remaining in the first half.

However, the Yotes would challenge again after halftime as the team went on a 9-0 run near the start of the second half to cut the CU lead to four at 46-42. C of I’s Rodney Delgardo sparked the strong start to the period as the guard scored the Yotes’ first five points of the second half. Preseason CCC Player of the Year Matt Ballenger then capped the Yotes’ run with one of his four three-pointers on the night.

Concordia responded well to the challenge, though, and outscored the Yotes 29-17 over the next ten minutes to take their largest lead of the night at 16. The Cavs hit shots from all areas of the floor over those ten minutes, making four three-pointers while also scoring 12 of the points in the paint.

After that, Concordia never led by less than 11 points and hit their free throw shots down the stretch to seal their first conference win of the season.

Statistically, the Cavs returned to form offensively, making a whopping 59.6 percent of their shots, including 67.9 percent in the second half. Concordia also took home a huge advantage from the free throw line, making 26 free throws compared to just nine for The College of Idaho.

West led the Cavs with a fantasy basketball-type performance of 21 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals, two three-pointers, one block and no turnovers. Besides West, Adam Herman and Austin Dunn each scored 18 apiece for the Cavs, while Drew Preuninger added 16 points off four three-pointers. Meanwhile, freshman Kory Kirwan gave the team its fifth double-digit scorer with 11 points in just 13 minutes of action.

On the flip side, Ballenger and Delgardo contributed much of the Yotes offense with 20 and 19 points, respectively. Besides them, Rick Tolman scored 11 and Ben Van Lith added 10. C of I’s Jason Brown also had a strong game with a game-high eight assists against only one turnover.

The College of Idaho will now return home to Caldwell, Idaho to host their own C of I/NNU Holiday Classic next weekend. The Yotes will begin the classic with a game against Multnomah University on Friday, Dec. 9 at 8 p.m.

The Cavs also return to action on Friday when they host a rematch against Portland Bible College at 7:30 p.m. Concordia used a strong second-half to win 116-61 when the two teams’ first faced each other earlier this year.