CALDWELL, Idaho – A balanced scoring effort and a dominating performance on the glass were the key in a College of Idaho 77-62 victory over Montana Western in the 32nd Annual Taco Bell Shootout inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
Four different Coyotes (11-1) scored in double-figures, with C of I holding a 49-26 edge in total rebounds – including a 16-4 edge on the offensive glass – outscoring the Bulldogs 14-2 in second chance points.
Nate Bruneel scored 20 points in the win and
Justin Saunders added a season-high 17, as the Yotes finished the non-conference portion of their schedule with a perfect 4-0 record against the NAIA Division I Frontier Conference.
C of I used a 14-4 run over a five-minute stretch of the first half to erase a 9-8 Western (3-2) lead – getting back-to-back 3-pointers from Bruneel, along with a triple and a put-back bucket from
Jalen Galloway. The Bulldogs cut the margin to 31-24 on a Troy Scott lay-up, but the Yotes scored got a pair of 3's in a late flurry from Saunders to extend the margin to 44-30 at the half.
Western never made a serious charge in the second half – as the Coyote lead remained in double-figures throughout – as C of I limited the Dawgs to just 38-percent shooting in the final 20 minutes.
Bruneel and Saunders combined to go 8-of-12 from 3-point range, with Bruneel adding six rebounds.
Keun Palu-Thompson had 13 points and seven rebounds;
Gibson Berryhill scored 10; Galloway had seven points and eight rebounds; with
Connor Desaulniers recording a game-high 11 rebounds in just 11 minutes.
Kooper Kidgell led UMW with 21 points and Scott scored 14 – as the Bulldogs made just 5-of-12 free throws in the loss.
C of I opens up Cascade Conference play next weekend at home, meeting nationally-ranked teams from Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon.
