Zach Peterson hit 6 fof 10 attempts from 3-point range en route to a 23-point night against Concordia.
Peterson Leads Yotes to Win at Concordia
BOX SCORE - Concordia vs. College of Idaho
PORTLAND, Ore.—In a crucial game in terms of conference playoff positioning, The College of Idaho beat Concordia 82-72 in Cascade Collegiate Conference men’s basketball action on Friday.
The Yotes improve to 15-12 overall and 11-6 in the CCC with the win, while the Cavs drop to 15-12 overall and 9-8 in the CCC. More importantly, the Yotes clinched at the least the fourth seed in the CCC playoffs and the right to host a CCC Quarterfinal game with the win, while the Cavs now know they will play their quarterfinal game on the road. In addition, the Yotes, who upset then-No. 1 Eastern Oregon 83-82 last weekend, have gotten hot at the right time as they have now won four straight games over conference teams with records above .500 in conference play.
The Yotes never trailed on Friday against the Cavs as they ran out to an early 25-11 lead. The Yotes kept the lead at 14 through the under-eight media timeout at which point the Cavs made their first run of the game, a 10-2 spurt that got them within six at 31-25 with 4:36 to go in the half.
The Cavs did not get much closer before halftime—the Yotes led by seven at 35-28 at the break—but did come out hot in the second half, cutting the Yotes’ lead to one at 37-36 with a three-pointer from Willy Ligon just over two minutes into the period.
The Yotes took command again with a 16-6 run after that, however, pushing the lead back to double digits at 53-42 with 13:26 left in the game.
The Cavs got back within five points a couple times after that, but the Yotes pushed the lead back up each time. The Cavs cut the lead to five the last time at 70-65 when CCC leading scorer Adam Herman made a layup with 2:32 to go. The Cavs forced a miss on the Yotes’ possession after Herman’s layup, too, giving some hope to a comeback, but the Yotes’ Antonio Garrett came up with a big offensive rebound and layup to put the Yotes back up by seven. Four straight free throws followed Garrett’s put-back, as well, putting the Yotes in full control of the game late as they closed it out for the 82-72 win.
Overall, the Yotes outshot the Cavs .467-to-.386 in the game, though the Cavs did close the gap in the second half after the Yotes outshot them .500-to-.324 before halftime.
Individually, the Yotes’ Zach Peterson led all scorers with 23 points, thanks largely to Peterson going 6-of-10 from beyond the three-point line. Three other Yotes scored in double figures behind Peterson, though, as Garrett and Taylor Pruett each scored 12 points for the Yotes, while Sydney Donaldson scored 11.
Herman, meanwhile, led the way for the Cavs with 20 points in the game, while Ligon was the only other Cavalier to score in double figures as he finished with 17. Besides those two, Justyn Searle had a big game in the paint for the Cavs as he finished one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. Searle also finished with three blocks in the game, putting him just two blocks away from tying the fourth-best single-season total in school history (Jeff Morris’ mark of 53 blocks during the 1995-96 season), and just three blocks away from tying the third-best single-season total (Shaun Hartley’s mark of 54 blocks during the 1989-90 season).
Both teams will return to action tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 16, as the Yotes travel to face No. 12 Warner Pacific, while the Cavs host No. 3 Eastern Oregon. Warner Pacific beat Eastern Oregon at the buzzer earlier Friday, tying both teams atop the league at 14-3. The action on both Portland campuses on Saturday, then, will help determine the CCC regular-season champion.
The Yotes’ game at Warner Pacific will tip off at 7:30 p.m., while the Cavs’ game against Eastern Oregon will tip off at 8 p.m.