EUGENE, Ore. –
Aziz Leeks scored a season-high 21 points and added three blocked shots, anchoring a College of Idaho defense that limited Northwest Christian to 27 points below their season average, as the Yotes earned a hard-fought 72-66 victory inside Morse Event Center.
The No. 8 ranked Coyotes (15-5, 9-1 CCC) held their seventh-straight foe under 75 points, rallying from a 14-point first half deficit to run their win streak to five and improve to 5-1 on the road in Cascade Conference play. C of I made 57-percent of their second half field goals and scored 40 of their 72 points in the paint.
The Beacons (8-9, 4-6), who had averaged over 100 points a game over their past five contests – held C of I without a made field goal for a seven minute stretch of the opening half. Back to back jumpers by Michael Loomis and two Reece Robinson lay-ups keyed a 16-1 run that gave the hosts a 21-7 lead at the 10-minute mark.
C of I clamped down – holding NCU to just three made field goals the rest of the frame – to inch back into the contest. A
Gibson Berryhill 3-pointer started a 7-0 Coyote run to cut the deficit in half, while a
Talon Pinckney triple got C of I within 27-23. Late in the half,
Nate Bruneel fed Leeks for an alley-oop dunk and Bruneel followed with a monster left-handed jam in traffic, as the Coyotes cut the margin to just 30-29 at the break.
The Coyotes scored the first seven points of the second half – including a driving lay-up and a triple from Bruneel – to take the lead for good. The lead would balloon to 52-40 on consecutive Pinckney runners - as C of I earned their first win at NCU since the 2014-15 season.
Leeks finished 8-of-13 from the floor and 5-of-7 from the line in the win, adding a team-high seven rebounds. Pinckney scored 19 points and led all players with four steals, with Bruneel and
Roosevelt Adams each scoring nine.
Michael Loomis led the Beacons with 24 points and eight rebounds; Tyrus Hosley scored 17 and Brock Rice came off the bench to score 10. NCU was limited to just 40-percent shooting by the Coyote defense and were outrebounded 35-33.
The Yotes travel tomorrow for a 7:30 p.m. (PT) matchup at Corban University – broadcast live on 99.1-FM ESPN Boise.
