CALDWELL, Idaho –
Aitor Zubizarreta scored a season-high 19 points, leading the College of Idaho to a quality 87-75 victory over Frontier Conference power Rocky Mountain in Game 2 of the Domino's Classic inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
Zubizarreta made 7-of-10 field goals, including three 3-pointers, as the Coyotes (7-1) won for the sixth-straight time and improved to 3-0 against NAIA Division I opponents.
The senior scored seven of the Yotes first 11 points, helping the hosts bolt out to a 17-8 lead in the first six minutes. The Battlin' Bears (4-2) answered with a 9-1 run – including a four-point play and a triple from Chad Kananen, to get within 18-17.
Aziz Leeks took over, scoring all 10 points in a Coyote 10-0 run to push the margin to 31-19 and took a 42-33 lead to the break.
Rocky cut the gap to 46-42 after a Taylor Longo trey just two minutes into the second half, but Zubizarreta hit a three-pointer and added a baseline floater in a 10-2 run that gave C of I a 56-44 lead with 15 minutes remaining. The Bears made one last surge, getting within 79-69 on a Zach Hinton jumper with five minutes to go, but
Emanuel Morgan drained a mid-range bucket to start an 8-0 run that salted the win.
Joey Nebeker had 16 points and seven rebounds for C of I, with Morgan and Leeks each scoring 13.
Bryden Boehning scored 15 points for Rocky, with Riley Bradshaw recording 13 points and six assists. The Bears lost despite a 35-33 edge in rebounds and hitting 47-percent of their field goal attempts.
The two teams combined for 50 fouls, with three players disqualified due to fouls. C of I made 22-of-28 shots from the line, with RMC making 19-of-25 free throw attempts.
C of I closes out tournament play tomorrow night at 7 p.m. vs. Montana Western. UMW opened the tournament, dropping a 100-84 decision to Eastern Oregon.
