Box Score POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – Trae Bergh led five Dakota Wesleyan players in double figures with 19 points, as the No. 5 seeded Tigers defeated the College of Idaho, 88-80, in the quarterfinals of the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship inside Keeter Gymnasium.
DWU (31-4) used a 34-13 edge in made free throws and a 39-32 margin on the glass to eliminate the Coyotes and advance to their first national semifinal.
Leading 39-36 at the break, the Tigers opened the second half on a 19-9 run, taking their largest lead of the night at 58-45 on a Luke Bamberg lay-up with 13 minutes remaining.
The Yotes (30-6) would chip away at the margin, cutting the gap to 62-56 on a Sydney Donaldson 3-point play, with a Josh Wilson free throw inside the final 90 seconds getting C of I within 79-76. Wilson missed the second attempt, with Joey Nebeker grabbing the offensive rebound, but was called for a loose ball foul – and DWU connected on 9-of-12 free throws to close out the win.
C of I sprinted out of the gates, forcing six turnovers in the opening eight minutes in an early surge. Demetrius Perkins had back-to-back baskets and Marko Kovacevic drained a 3-pointer to give the Yotes a 19-7 lead at the 13 minute mark.
The Tigers responded, holding the Coyotes to just one made field goal over a five minute stretch, using the 14-2 run to take a 30-27 lead with four minutes left in the period. C of I held their final lead at 31-30 after a steal and a Wilson lay-up, but a Kris Menning basket and two free throws gave DWU the lead, a lead they would not relinquish.
Bamberg had 17 points and 12 rebounds in the victory, was DWU won despite making just 4-of-23 shots from outside the arc. Leading scorer Jalen Voss had 17 points, with Menning scoring 14 and Jade Miller 13.
Three seniors led the Yotes, as Kovacevic scored 15 points, with Wilson adding 14 points and seven rebounds before fouling out late in the game. Perkins had 13 points – becoming the 20th C of I player to score 1,000 points in his career, finishing with 1,012 points – No. 18 on the list.
Fellow seniors Joe Vaz and Jordan O'Byrne each scored 10 in their final game as a Coyote, with Donaldson adding eight.
It marks the deepest run by a C of I team since 2001, when the Yotes were also eliminated in the national quarterfinals by a team from the Great Plains Athletic Conference.
The 30 wins by the Coyotes are the second-most in program history, with the two-year win-loss record of 58-12 the best in the over 100-year history of the C of I men's basketball.
