LA GRANDE, Ore. – Alex Smith scored 14 of his 23 points in a 26-3 second half run, as Bethesda University rallied for a 97-83 victory over the College of Idaho in the title game of the Quinn Classic.
The Coyotes (1-1) took a 54-41 lead early in the second half on an
Aziz Leeks bucket, but watched as the Flames made 59-percent of their field goal attempts and 5-of-6 3-pointers after halftime to erase the deficit.
Jarrell Tate had 25 points, nine boards and seven assists for the Anaheim, Calif., school, who finished a week long road trip to the Northwest, 4-1.
C of I jumped out from the outset, scoring 10 of the first 12 points – including a
Dominique Jordan four point play and an
Aitor Zubizarreta dunk. Zubizarreta scored six straight points, including a three point play and a three pointer, as the Yotes extended the margin to 28-15 with eight minutes left in the first half. The Flames cut the gap to 37-32 on a Jesse Henderson jumper and settled for a 41-35 deficit going to the locker room.
Back-to-back treys from Jordan and Zubizarreta and the post move from Leeks gave C of I the big second half lead – but the Yotes missed seven of their next nine shots and turned the ball over four times, while Bethesda made six straight field goals and added 7-of-8 shooting from the line in their game-changing run.
Leeks had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the loss, with Jordan adding 16 for the Yotes, who turned the ball over 19 times on the day. Zubizarreta had 13 points and
Roosevelt Adams logged eight points and 10 rebounds for C of I.
The Flames held a 42-38 edge on the glass and outscored C of I 25-17 at the foul line.
C of I returns to action on Tuesday, traveling to Tucson, Ariz., for an exhibition against NCAA Division I No. 11 ranked Arizona.
