EUGENE, Ore. – Sydney Donaldson hit a game-winning three-pointer with two seconds remaining, as The College of Idaho capped a furious second half rally with a 57-56 victory at Northwest Christian, inside the Morse Events Center.
Box Score
The Coyotes (9-9, 5-3 CCC) trailed 51-40 with seven minutes to play, but NCU made just 1-of-6 free throws, missed five shots, and had four turnovers in a 12-1 C of I run – with a Ben Van Lith runner tying the score at 52-52 with 2:25 left.
After the two teams traded buckets, Wyatt Taboh-Graziano gave the Beacons (7-12, 1-6) the lead with a driving lay-up with 54-seconds to play and NCU had a chance to seal the win after a Coyote turnover. However, Gio Guzman missed a pair of free throws, setting up the finale. The Yotes milked the clock, with Zach Peterson skipping a pass to Donaldson at the left angle, stroking the 22-foot jumper for the win – as NCU did not get a shot off before the final horn.
The first half saw the Yotes take a 16-10 lead on a Donaldson three-point play, but a pair of Trevor Miller treys in an 11-2 NCU run helped the Beacons take a 32-29 lead to the locker room. Trevor Pacos had a pair of jumpers in a quick 6-0 run to start the second half to put the hosts in command, with Parker’s fifth trey of the night pushing the lead to 46-35 with 12 minutes left.
Donaldson led the Yotes with 18 points, with Antonio Garrett hitting 8-of-11 shots from the floor, scoring 17 points and adding eight rebounds. The C of I won despite hitting just 9-of-21 free throws and 2-of-18 shooting from outside the arc.
Parker led NCU with 15 points, with Pacos and Taboh-Graziano each scoring nine. Brody McGowan had a team-high 11 rebounds for the Beacons, who had 22 turnovers in the loss and converted just 7-of-19 free throws.
The Coyotes return to action on Friday night, hosting second-ranked Eastern Oregon at 7:30 p.m.
