LA GRANDE, Ore. –
Nate Bruneel recorded his first career double-double, making 5-of-8 3-pointers, helping the College of Idaho complete a season sweep of rival Eastern Oregon with a 71-66 victory at Quinn Coliseum.
The No. 4-ranked Coyotes (21-3, 10-2 CCC) clinched a berth in the Cascade Conference Championships for the 22nd-straight season – rallying with an 8-0 run to cap the first half and surviving a frantic EOU rally in the final 90 seconds.
A Jordan May 3-pointer late in the first half gave the Mountaineers (12-11, 7-5) a 31-24 lead, but the Yotes got 3's from
Gibson Berryhill and
Justin Saunders and a runner in the lane by Berryhill to give them a 32-31 lead at the break.
After a Brock Johnson 3-pointer gave EOU their final lead of the night at 37-36, C of I scored 12-straight points – starting with a
Jake Bruner triple and adding two Bruneel treys – giving the visitors a 48-37 lead with 13 minutes remaining.
Bruneel canned his fifth three of the night to give C of I their largest lead of the evening at 65-52 with five minutes left, but EOU limited the Yotes to just one made field goal the rest of the way. Late 3's from Said Hersi and May pulled the Mounties within 69-66 – and following a C of I turnover, had a chance to tie, but a 3-pointer from May missed short with two seconds left.
Bruneel had 15 points and 10 rebounds,
Talon Pinckney had 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds, with Berryhill scoring 13.
Matt Meyers had eight points with a career-high 14 rebounds. C of I won despite just 38-percent shooting from the field, using a 48-34 edge on the glass to their advantage.
May had 15 points for EOU, but was 3-of-15 from 3-point range. Jared Schetzle had 15 points and Brock Johnson scored 11 in the loss.
C of I has the weekend off in preparation for next weekend's road trip to Evergreen and Northwest.
