CALDWELL, Idaho –
Roosevelt Adams scored seven points and
Aziz Leeks added six more in a game-changing 17-2 run to open the second half, as the College of Idaho overcame a halftime deficit to outlast Eastern Oregon, 69-59, in a NAIA Top-20 match-up inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The No. 7 ranked Coyotes (17-5, 11-1 CCC) held EOU to 30 points below their season scoring average and just 34-percent shooting from the floor in completing the season sweep of the Mountaineers. The victory was C of I's seventh in a row, while snapping Eastern's eight-game string.
Trailing 32-28 at the break, the Yotes locked down the No. 20 Mountaineers (18-4, 10-4) attack to start the second half – as EOU missed 12 of their first 13 shots and committed two turnovers. Adams scored on a driving lay-up and Leeks spun home a post move to tie the score. Leeks bodied up for a deuce to give C of I the lead for good;
Keun Palu-Thompson converted a free throw and a triple to extend the margin; and after an EOU put back basket; Leeks scored again and Adams drained a trey and a runner to give the hosts a 45-34 lead with 13 minutes to go.
The lead would grow to 58-44 on a Palu-Thompson triple, but the visitors used a 10-0 run – including 3-pointers from Garret Sawyer and Max McCullough, to get within 58-54 with 4:27 left. The C of I defense did the rest, forcing six-straight EOU missed shots – while lay-ups from Adams and Leeks, along with a Palu-Thompson 15-foot jumper – put the game out of reach.
The first half was a grind for both teams – with the teams combining for six ties. C of I had their only lead of the half at 26-25 on an Adams 3-pointer, but Jordan May answered for EOU with a trey, as the Mounties took the lead to the locker room.
Palu-Thompson led the Yotes with 18 points, with Leeks recording his league-leading 11th double-double of the season, scoring 16 points with 10 rebounds, converting 8-of-9 field goals. Adams had 15 points and nine rebounds,
Nate Bruneel had 12 points, with
Talon Pinckney leading all players with nine assist.
May had 21 points for EOU – but was just 9-of-23 from the field – with Austin Winegar scoring 13. McCullough, the Cascade Conference's leading scorer, was limited to a season-low five points on 1-of-9 shooting.
C of I returns to action this weekend, hosting Walla Walla in a pair of games – Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 9:30 p.m.
