LIVE VIDEO / LIVE STATS: Live Video and Live Stats will be available for both fans unable to make the weekend games in Montana. Live Video will be provided by Montana Tech's
YouTube Channel, with Live Stats available through the NAIA's
DakStats Portal.
COMPLETE MEDIA GAME NOTES
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE: Renewals for reserved season tickets finished on Oct. 18, with all season tickets (reserved and general admission seats) to go on sale this week. Reserved season tickets for the 2019-20 season are $200, with general admission season tickets $150. Additional plans are available, with all ticket information located at the
C of I Basketball Ticket Portal.
YOTES PICKED SECOND IN CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL: Fresh off their second-straight trip to the NAIA Division II national semifinals, the Coyotes were picked second in the annual Cascade Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll, released by the league office on Oct. 9. C of I, coming of a record-setting 31-6 season, received two first-place votes and 111 voter points from the 11 league coaches - the first time since the 2013-14 season that C of I was not the odds-on favorite in the tabulation. Oregon Tech earned the favorite roll with eight first-place votes and 118 voter points, as the Owls return all five starters from a 28-8 team that advanced to the NAIA title game last season. CCC Player of the Year, Mitchell Fink, anchors a veteran squad that won the CCC regular-season title in 2018-19. Southern Oregon (88 points), Corban (81 points) and Eastern Oregon (75 points) round out the top five. The NAIA Preseason Top-25 Poll will be released on Oct. 23.
OCTOBER GAMES: Friday's game equals the second earliest start in program history – joining an Oct. 25 match-up at Montana Western during the 2013-14 season. Last year, the Yotes began the year with a victory over New Hope Christian at the Quinn Classic in La Grande. C of I has played 14 all-time games during October, posting a 6-8 all-time record.
LOOKING TO EXTEND OPENING GAME WIN STREAK: Since the 1933-34 season, the Coyotes have posted a 46-39 record in season openers, including the 96-58 victory over New Hope Christian last season - their fifth-straight opening win, a school record. C of I lost four-straight openers from 1954-57 and also from 1973-76.
OFF TO MONTANA: The Coyotes open the season at the Montana Tech Tip-Off, playing games against a pair of longstanding NAIA Division I rivals Montana Western and Montana Tech. It is the 12th time since 1958 that C of I has begun a season in the Treasure State, posting a 5-17 record. C of I completed sweeps in Montana to open a season in 1988 (wins at Western and Carroll) and in 2003 (wins at Tech and Western), splitting games in 1987 (winning at Tech, losing at Western). The Yotes dropped both games in 1971, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2010, 2012 and 2013.
HISTORY IN MONTANA: C of I has played 52 games in Montana, posting an all-time record of 15-37 in Big Sky country. The Yotes have a winning record against one foe (1-0 vs. Providence), while they have lost their only game on the home floors of Montana, Montana State and MSU-Billings. C of I is 3-7 all-time at Carroll, 4-6 all-time at Montana Tech and 6-15 all-time at Montana Western.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – MONTANA WESTERN: The season opens Friday against Montana Western, as the Bulldogs look to shake off an uncharacteristic 8-21 season. Mike Larsen's squad, picked seventh in the Frontier Conference preseason poll, returns a pair of starters in guards Cedric Boone (14.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg) and Tanner Haverfield (6.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg), but must have to replace the 17 points per game of Cooper Kidgell. The Bulldogs added four junior college transfers who will be making their NAIA debuts. C of I is looking for their first win in Montana against Western since an 87-83 win in Dillon in 2006.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – MONTANA TECH: C of I meets Montana Tech on Saturday – the first meeting at Kelvin Sampson Court between the squads since 2003. The Orediggers (17-15) had a bounce-back 2018-19 season and were picked to finish fifth in the Frontier Conference preseason poll. Tech returns all five starters from last season – including 6-foot-7 forward Taylor England (15.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and guards Troy Owens (13.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg) and Nate Ward (8.8 ppg, 3.3 apg). The Yotes will put a 6-game winning streak against the Diggers on the line, dating back to 2012.
POSITION PREVIEW – GUARDS: A mix of returners and newcomers will be key in the backcourt as the Coyotes come off their second-straight trip to the NAIA Division II national semifinals. The Coyotes return one of the top playmakers in the NAIA in senior
Talon Pinckney, coming off a season where he earned first-team NAIA All-America honors. The point-guard averaged 12 points and five assists per game in 2018-19 – upping that average to 17 points per game at the national tournament. Named the Cascade Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Pinckney led all CCC players with 90 steals – recording three or more steals in 20 games. Sophomore
Derek Wadsworth looks to have an expanded role this season – seeing action at both the point-guard and shooting guard slots. The 3-time 4A state champion at Preston High averaged three points a game in a reserve role last year, but connected on 4-of-7 3-pointers at the NAIA Championships. Pinckney and Wadsworth will have new running mates – as a trio of regulars have left the program. All-CCC selections
Gibson Berryhill and
Keun Palu-Thompson both graduated following the season, while injuries forced shooter
Justin Saunders to the sidelines. Berryhill averaged 11 points a game and made 88 3-pointers, Palu-Thompson averaged 11 points and five rebounds, with Saunders making 44-percent of his 3-point attempts. Transfers
Ricardo Time and
Otto Taylor, along with true freshman
Charles Elzie III, will be in the mix from Game 1. Time, from West Hills CC, averaged 22 points and seven rebounds per game as a sophomore, earning All-Central Valley Conference honors, along with CVC All-Defensive Team accolades. Taylor, a pure-shooter from Riverside CC, averaged 14 points per game in 2018-19, making 43-percent of his 3-point attempts. Elzie, from Bellarmine Prep High, averaged 19 points a game as a senior, earning 4A All-South Puget Sound League honors. Returners
Brayden West and
Jacob Russell look for expanded roles this season. West, a redshirt freshman, will contend for immediate playing time at the two-guard position, with Russell adding depth at the point-guard spot. Two first-year players are also in the mix in
Deshun Harwell and
Connor Cooper. Harwell, from Century High, will join the team following C of I's football season, where he is a defensive back, while Cooper, from Eagle High, will serve as a back-up at both guard spots.
POSITION PREVIEW – FORWARD / POSTS: The Coyotes, coming off a 31-win season, return six key members of the CCC Tournament champion team – having to replace only post
Matt Meyers, who is now a student-assistant coach with the club. Meyers averaged eight points and six rebounds per game in his lone season at C of I, starting 33 games on the year. Three-year starter
Nate Bruneel has become a fan favorite during his time with the Coyotes. The local product averaged a team-high 13 points and five rebounds per game as a junior, making 43-percent of his 3-point attempts and energizing the home fan base with his above-the-rim play. Returners
Jake Bruner and
Ivory Miles-Williams will be key to the Yotes success this season, both providing experience at both ends of the floor. The 6-foot-6 Bruner started 34 games as a junior, averaging four points and five rebounds per game, while serving as one of the top low-post defenders on the team. Miles-Williams had an outstanding sophomore season, averaging five points and three rebounds off the bench, making 51-percent of his field goal attempts. Redshirt freshman
Nathan Burman will also be in the mix at the small forward position, as the 6-foot-3 swingman from Wyoming earned key experience in practice during the 2018-19 season.
Connor Desaulniers will assume the top spot at the post position after returning to the game last year after a nearly two-year hiatus. The 6-foot-9 sophomore averaged seven points and a team-best seven rebounds per game, adding 34 blocked shots, while making 59-percent of his field goal attempts. Versatile
Jalen Galloway will push Desaulniers for playing time, as the athletic 6-foot-7 sophomore averaged five points and three rebounds in nine minutes per game in 2018-19. Galloway had a breakout 32-point, 10-rebound game vs. Northwest Indian College and played key minutes at the NAIA Championships. Also on the block is true freshman
Paul Wilson, a 6-foot-11 big-man from Idaho Falls High. Wilson was the 4A Defensive Player of the Year, leading his team to the state title – averaging 12 points and seven rebounds per game.
UNDER 60 / OVER 95 EQUALS WINS: C of I will take a 35-game win streak into the 2019-20 season in games where opponents fail to reach 60 points – and a dominating 192-12 mark in such games over the last 40 years. During the same stretch, the Coyotes are 54-2 when opponents fail to score 50. In addition, the Yotes have won 44 of their last 45 contests (dating back to 2006) when scoring 95 points in a game.
SPEAKING OF 3-POINTERS: Since college basketball adopted the 3-point line at the start of the 1986-87 season, the Coyotes have made a 3-pointer in every game but one – a loss to Idaho State during the U.S. Bank Tip-Off Tournament at Boise State on Dec. 2, 1988. Since then, C of I has run a string of games with a trey to 1,004 – one of four programs (Kentucky, UNLV and CCC rival Corban) which have made a 3-pointer in over 1,000-or-more straight games.
RECORD BOOK: Four Yotes begin 2019-20 ranked among the Top-50 in the career book, paced by
Talon Pinckney, who sits at No. 4 in assists (428), No. 6 in steals (180), No. 18 in field goal attempts (885), No. 21 in points scored (1,047), No. 22 in field goals made, No. 31 in free throws made (193), No. 32 in 3-point attempts (245), No. 36 in 3-pointers made (86), No. 37 in free throw attempts (252) and No. 41 in blocked shots (24).
Nate Bruneel is No. 22 in 3-pointers made (123), No. 37 in points scored (869), No. 39 in 3-point attempts (278), No. 41 in blocked shots (24) and No. 49 in free throws made (162);
Connor Desaulniers is No. 30 in blocked shots (34) and
Jake Bruner is No. 43 in blocked shots (43).
LAST YEAR OF THE NAIA DIVISION II: The 2019-20 season will be the final season with the NAIA sponsoring two divisions, as the association will return to a single division for the first time since the 1991-92 season. Beginning in 2020-21, the new-look national tournament will feature 64 teams playing at 16 Opening Round sites, with the 16 Opening Round champions advancing to the Final Site of the NAIA Championships in Kansas City, Mo.
