SALEM, Ore. – Jett Sobotta missed a desperation 40-foot heave at the buzzer as the College of Idaho completed their second-straight Cascade Conference road sweep with a 73-71 victory at Corban University.
The win for the No. 8 ranked Coyotes (16-5, 10-1 CCC) was their sixth in a row – as five players scored in double figures and C of I limited their eighth-straight opponent to 73 points or less.
A pair of
Aziz Leeks inside baskets and a coast-to-coast lay-up by
Keun Palu-Thompson broke a 65-65 tie – giving the Coyotes a six-point lead with 3:30 left in the contest. The Warriors (12-9, 6-7), who fell to 0-5 in games decided by five points or less, pulled within 72-71 on a Mike Seng jumper with four seconds to go. Palu-Thompson was fouled and made the front end of a 1-and-1 attempt, but missed the second – with Corban getting the ball to Sobotta just inside the mid-court stripe, with his long-range attempt missing wide right.
C of I jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead in the opening minutes – extending the lead to 28-17 on a
Roosevelt Adams lay-up. The Warriors answered quickly, as Seng hit two triples and Chris Martin added a third – part of an 11-0 run that tied the score. The Warriors took a brief 31-30 lead, before
Talon Pinckney splashed a trey to give the Yotes the lead, with the visitors taking a 37-33 edge to the break.
A pair of Leeks jumpers and an Adams 3-pointer gave C of I their largest lead of the second half at 54-47 – but Martin hit three consecutive 3-balls, the last of the long range shots giving the Warriors their final lead at 61-60 before the wild finish.
Leeks had 18 points and nine rebounds in the victory, as C of I made 47-percent of their field goals and held a 40-32 edge on the glass. Pinckney, Adams and
Nate Bruneel all had 12 points, with Palu-Thompson scoring 11.
Joel Johnson scored a game-high 20 points in the loss for Corban, with Martin scoring 13. The Warriors finished just 8-of-15 from the stripe – but forced 15 C of I turnovers.
The Yotes return home to play their next five counters, beginning Wednesday night against rival Eastern Oregon.
