Yotes Survive Northwest, Advance in CCC Tournament
CALDWELL, Idaho – Rallying from a 10-point second half deficit, the College of Idaho clamped down defensively on Northwest University, outlasting the Eagles, 62-56, in the quarterfinals of the Cascade Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank, inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
With the win, the fourth-ranked Coyotes (25-6) advance to host Southern Oregon in the tournament semifinals at 7 p.m. on Saturday night. Season ticket holders have through Thursday to reserve their seats for the contest, with all tickets available for purchase beginning Friday at YoteAthletics.com or at the C of I Ticket Office.
The victory was not easy, as the Eagles (13-18) used a 30-9 run over a 15-minute stretch spanning the two halves, to build a 44-34 lead with just over 14 minutes remaining. C of I chipped away, getting a 3-ball and three free throws from
Nate Bruneel, a Matthew Duniphan 3-point play and a 3-pointer from
Talon Pinckney to pull within 50-45 with 11:22 remaining.
From there, the top defensive squad in the CCC took over, forcing eight NU turnovers and limiting the visitors to 2-of-10 shooting the rest of the way.
A
Roosevelt Adams 3-pointer gave the Yotes a 54-52 lead, with Bruneel draining a corner triple to extend the lead to five. The Eagles had a chance – as Ryan Ricks picked off an errant pass with 24 seconds left in a 2-point game – but Christian Hakilimali missed a driving lay-up, with
Aziz Leeks grabbing the board, starting a quick fastbreak that ended with a
Keun Palu-Thompson lay-up that put the game out of reach.
C of I started quickly, as Pinckney connected on his first four 3-point attempts of the night – the last giving the Yotes a 26-13 lead with 9:09 left in the first half. However, the Eagles zone defense created problems – forcing 10 of the Yotes season-high 20 turnovers in the next 15 minutes – to take control of the contest. NU closed the half on a 14-3 run and added 10 quick points from Justice Martion in a 12-2 push early in the second frame to take the double-digit lead – setting up the Coyote rally.
Pinckney scored a game-high 19 points, including a career-high six 3-pointers; Bruneel scored all 13 of his points in the second half; with Adams adding 11.
Aziz Leeks scored just three points but had 14 rebounds – his 17th double-digit rebound game of the year and surpassing the 300-rebound mark for the season.
Martion led NU with 16 points and six rebounds, with Hakilimali scoring 10 – as the Eagles made 47-percent of their field goal attempts in the loss.