KIRKLAND, Wash. – Riding a 61-percent shooting second half and five players in double figures, the College of Idaho used a dominant final 20 minutes to record their biggest win at Northwest University since 2000, cruising to a 95-73 victory inside the NU Pavilion.
Roosevelt Adams recorded his second-straight 24-point night in conference play as the Yotes (11-5, 5-1 CCC) kept pace with Warner Pacific atop the Cascade Conference standings.
Adams and
Gibson Berryhill each hit three first half 3-pointers, as C of I overcame a 10-0 Eagles (8-9, 2-5) run that gave the hosts a 12-7 lead. An Adams triple broke a 27-27 tie, as the Yotes took a 39-35 lead to the break.
C of I turned up the defensive pressure early in the second half, forcing four turnovers on NU's first six possessions – with a tip-in from
Aziz Leeks and a driving
Talon Pinckney lay-up gave the Yotes a 53-41 lead five minutes into the period.
The Eagles would claw back within 61-55 on a Kaelen Hicks triple with 10 minutes to go, before the Yotes caught fire. Pinckney scored seven quick points, Leeks converted a pair of lay-ups and
Keun Palu-Thompson drained two 3's in a 22-8 C of I run that put the game away. Berryhill capped the night with a 40-foot prayer to beat a shot clock violation.
Palu-Thompson had 21 points, with Pinckney scoring 17 points and eight assists. Berryhill scored 14 points, including 4-of-6 shooting from distance, with Leeks adding 12. The Yotes had a 36-26 rebound edge and did not allow NU to record a second half offensive rebound.
Justice Martion led NU with 25 points, with Tre Benton scoring 15 in the loss – as the Eagles lost despite making 51-percent of their field goals, but just 4-of-18 from 3-point range. It was Northwest's first loss to C of I in Kirkland since 2012-13 and their worst home loss to the Yotes since a 102-59 C of I win during the 1999-00 season.
C of I returns to action tomorrow night, traveling to Evergreen for a 7:30 p.m. contest – live on 99.1-FM.
