CALDWELL, Idaho –
Dominique Jordan scored all of his team-high 16 points in the second half, but it wasn't enough to erase a 19-point halftime deficit, as the College of Idaho dropped a 79-58 decision to Oregon Tech in the quarterfinals of the Cascade Conference Championships, presented by U.S. Bank.
The Owls (23-8), who saw their season ended by the Yotes each of the past two seasons, will meet top-seed Northwest Christian on Saturday in one of the semifinals. Southern Oregon and Warner Pacific meet in the other semi. Tech head coach Dan Miles won his 1,040th game of his career in his final game in Caldwell – as the 45-year OIT leader will be retiring at the end of the season.
After sweeping the regular-season series, the Coyotes (17-13) could not find their rhythm offensively, as the OIT defense held the hosts to 4-of-33 shooting from outside the arc – with Tech holding a 47-30 edge on the glass.
Despite a slow start, seven early points from
Emanuel Morgan and consecutive put-back baskets by
Marck Coffin and
Joey Nebeker, cut an early OIT lead to 22-18. Tech countered with 10-straight points – getting 3's from Lavar Moore and Austen Flint in the rally, as the visitors built a 41-22 lead at the half.
The Coyotes made a game of it early in the second half, as back-to-back triples from Jordan fueled a 9-0 run that cut the gap to 45-35. However, Tyler Van Kirk canned a trey – part of a career-high eight points for the OIT reserve – to turn the tide, with consecutive 3-pointers from Moore extending the margin to 66-47 and the Owls cruised to their first win at C of I since 2013.
Moore had 24 points for the Owls, his seventh-straight game with 20 or more points, with Flint scoring 15 points and Joel Yellow Owl tallying 11. Brandon Halter (5 points, 9 rebounds) and Bryan Beard (8 points, 4 rebounds) had quality games in spot starts for Tech.
Nebeker had 13 points to finish the season with a 20.7 points per game scoring average – the first Coyote to average over 20 a night since the 1997-98 season (Everett Ratleff). Morgan scored 12 points – his 13th double-digit scoring night of the season.
The game marked the final collegiate contest for four Coyotes, with
Ryan Davis and
Teejay Gordon not seeing the court, while Coffin (5 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals and
Andrew Bruce (0 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal) contributed in their final game.
The loss ended a 6-game win streak in the CCC Championships by the Yotes, with C of I now 25-16 all-time in tournament play.
