CALDWELL, Idaho – Rallying from a 20-point first half deficit, the College of Idaho made 54-percent of their second half field goals and forced 12 Corban turnovers, as the No. 24 ranked Coyotes outlasted the upstart Warriors, 78-74, before a loud, partisan crowd inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The win for the Yotes (10-4, 3-1 CCC) was their third in a row and kept the team a game back of first-place in the Cascade Conference standings heading into the holiday break.
Things did not go well for C of I in the first half, making just 5-of-18 field goal attempts, while the Warriors (7-6, 1-3) were in sync. Jeremiah Harris and Joel Johnson had a pair of buckets; Caleb Dozier scored five-straight points and Mike Seng drained a pair of long, contested triples, in a 22-4 Corban run to take a 26-11 lead. A Chris Martin fade away jumper with five minutes left in the half gave the visitors their largest lead at 36-16, with Martin canning a step-back trey at the final horn to secure a 41-27 halftime edge.
The Coyotes picked up the defensive pressure from the outset of the second half – forcing three turnovers in the first three minutes, as an
Aziz Leeks inside bucket cut the deficit to 45-37. Trailing 52-40,
Emanuel Morgan started an 11-0 run with a trey, followed by eight-straight
Joey Nebeker points, including consecutive 3-pointers, to get the hosts within a point. A
Dominique Jordan triple with 11:48 left in the game gave C of I their first lead since the early moments of the contest at 56-55.
Corban countered in a flash, as Martin splashed back-to-back long treys and Seng added a 24-footer to extend the margin back to eight points.
A pair of Harris free throws gave the Warriors a 69-65 lead with 4:23 remaining, but C of I turned up the pressure – as the visitors missed their next seven shots and committed a pair of turnovers. The Yotes responded, as a Morgan steal and basket, followed by two Nebeker free throws tied the score. Following a Leeks block, Morgan raced coast-to-coast, with his driving reverse lay-up giving the Yotes a 71-69 lead.
The Warriors were within 73-71 inside the final 30 seconds, before Jordan hit a long 3-pointer as the shot-clock expired to put the game out of reach.
Nebeker led all scorers with a season-high 21 points, including a perfect 10-of-10 shooting from the stripe. Leeks had 15 points, converting 4-of-5 field goals and all seven free throw chances. Morgan had 12 points and four steals, with Jordan adding 10, including three triples.
Martin led Corban with 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds, with Joel Johnson scoring 15. The Warriors lost despite making 52-percent of their field goal chances and holding a 36-27 rebound margin.
C of I returns to action on Dec. 30 with a road game at Evergreen – which can be heard live in the Treasure Valley on Kool Oldies, 101.5-FM.
