Leeks Scores 20, Yotes Win Season Opener 75-53 - Cascade Collegiate Conference Skip To Main Content

Cascade Collegiate Conference

Leeks Scores 20, Yotes Win Season Opener 75-53

Leeks Scores 20, Yotes Win Season Opener 75-53

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LA GRANDE, Ore. – The wait was worth it for Aziz Leeks to make his College of Idaho debut, as the transfer made a triumphant return to the hardwood, leading the Yotes with 20 points and 10 rebounds in a 75-53 victory over Trinity Western at the Aramark Quinn Classic.
 
After missing the entire 2015-16 season due to injury, Leeks made himself known in the second half, scoring 10 points in an 18-6 run to open the period, as the No. 7 ranked Coyotes (1-0) grabbed a 53-35 lead with 14 minutes remaining.
 
The Spartans (0-2), members of the CIS – the highest collegiate athletic organization in Canada, cut the gap to 53-43 on a Vartan Tanielian jumper with just under 10 minutes remaining.  C of I answered with 10-straight points – a 3-pointer and mid-range jumper from Emanuel Morgan, a triple from Roosevelt Adams, and a bucket inside by Leeks – to put the game away.
 
C of I trailed just twice in the game – at 3-0 and 5-3 – before Dominique Jordan hit back-to-back 3-pointers to quickly give the Yotes a 21-11 lead.  TWU hung around, closing the half on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 35-29 – but could not get closer.
 
Leeks finished 9-of-14 from the field to lead the Yotes, with Jordan scoring 15 points, making 5-of-9 3-point attempts. Morgan had 11 points and 11 assists – his seventh career double-digit assists game – with Adams scoring 12 and Joey Nebeker adding 11.
 
C of I forced 21 turnovers, with Morgan leading the team with three steals, and had a 48-39 edge on the glass, including 15 offensive rebounds.
 
Tanielian led TWU with 16 points and eight rebounds, with Pogos Trunyan scoring 10, but the Langley, B.C. school made just 35-percent of their field goals and posted an 8-of-17 clip from the foul line.
 
The Yotes close out tournament play tomorrow afternoon with a 1:30 p.m. (PDT) tip-off against Bethesda University of California.
 

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