CALDWELL, Idaho – Using a game-changing 17-0 run spanning the two halves, the College of Idaho erased a five-point Evergreen State College lead en route to their tenth-straight victory, a 78-58 win inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The No. 7 ranked Coyotes (20-5, 14-1 CCC) won their 13th-straight Cascade Conference game and their 11th-straight home contest – surpassing the 20-win mark for the fourth time in five seasons and the 24
th time in school history. It was the fourth-straight game the C of I defense limited an opponent to under 60 points – the first such streak since 2010-11.
The Geoducks (5-20, 4-12) came to play – breaking down the C of I zone defense in the opening 20 minutes – making 13-of-23 field goals. Ryan Quigley scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the opening half, including a 3-pointer in a 7-0 TESC run that gave the Greeners a 24-20 lead.
The lead was 30-25 with 2:36 left in the half, when the lid shut on the rim for the guests – as C of I forced five turnovers and six missed shots over a seven-minute stretch.
Roosevelt Adams canned consecutive triples inside the final minute of the opening half to give the Yotes a 33-30 lead, adding a lay-up early in the second half as the margin grew to 42-30.
TESC was within 42-35 after Pat Ling trey, but
Nate Bruneel drained a triple and
Gibson Berryhill connected on the first of four second half 3-pointers, as the 14-2 run put the game away.
The Yotes made 67-percent of their second half field goals – including 6-of-8 from downtown – while forcing 15 TESC turnovers. Adams led four C of I players in double-figures with 14 points, with Bruneel and Berryhill each scoring 12.
Keun Palu-Thompson had 11 points, with
Talon Pinckney and Matthew Duniphan scoring nine.
Malik Redmond scored a season-high 14 points for TESC in the loss, as the Geoducks made 51-percent of their field goals on the night – but were outscored 15-4 in second chance points and made just 2-of-9 free throws.
The Yotes close out their five-game homestand tomorrow with a 7:30 p.m. meeting against Northwest University.
