LIVE VIDEO / LIVE STATS: Live Video of all Coyote home games will be provided (pay-per-view) through C of I's Stretch Internet Portal with Mike Safford calling the action. Live Stats will be available for all home games via C of I's SIDEARM Stats 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.
FREE TICKETS / PARKING ALERT: Fans attending Saturday's C of I-Montana Western football game will be admitted for free to Saturday night's C of I-Montana Tech basketball game (general admission seating) with their game ticket. In addition, due to football tailgating in the J.A. Albertson Activities Center parking lot, limited parking will be available to fans arriving prior to 4 p.m. for Day 2 of the Taco Bell Shoot-Out.
YOTES SET TO OPEN HOME SCHEDULE: C of I opens their home schedule on Friday night, looking to extend a 6-game win streak in home openers. Since the 1958-59 season, the Coyotes have posted a 45-16 record in their opening game on their home floor.
HOME SWEET HOME: Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Coyotes have posted a 92-11 record inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center – including a 16-1 home mark last season and a 37-game win streak from 2013-15. Since the JAAC opened in 1991, the Yotes are 308-94 all-time in the arena and have posted a 424-103 in home games since 1981-82 (including a 56-game home win streak in the 1980s). Over the past six seasons, the Coyotes claimed the Cascade Conference attendance crown – finishing the 2018-19 regular-season averaging 1,389 fans a game – well ahead of Oregon Tech (1,025) and Southern Oregon (576). C of I finished No. 2 in the NAIA in attendance, second only to Dakota Wesleyan (2,211) – but well ahead of regional rivals Lewis-Clark State (612) and Carroll (609). Last year, C of I outdrew 95 NCAA Division I schools – including six Big Sky teams (Idaho State – 1,347, Eastern Washington – 1,133, Portland State – 1,121, Northern Arizona – 1,076, Idaho – 683, Sacramento State - 599).
OLDEST TOURNAMENT IN THE NORTHWEST RETURNS: This weekend, the 33rd edition of the Taco Bell Shoot-Out, tabbed over the years as the "Premier Small College Tournament in the West, returns to the Activities Center. Originally started in 1987 as the Golden Rule Shoot-Out by Duane Wolfe and the Golden Rule Auto Dealers, the tournament continued for years as the Duane Wolfe Memorial Golden Rule Shoot-Out after his passing in 1993. In 2014, Taco Bell kept the tradition going as the title sponsor of the Shoot-Out. A total of 40 different teams have played in the tournament from 1987-2018, which has seen seven different champions – with Portland Bible and Montana Tech each making their second appearance, with Multnomah making their first-ever appearance in the tourney. Eight of the 10 current CCC squads have played in the event (Oregon Tech, Corban, Northwest, Warner Pacific, Evergreen, Walla Walla, Multnomah and Eastern Oregon) – as only Southern Oregon and Northwest Christian haven't made a tourney trip.
LONG STANDING TOURNAMENTS: The Shoot-Out is one of the 10 longest running small-college tournaments in men's basketball – and the second longest on the west coast (Westmont's Tom Byron Classic is in its 44th year). The Concordia Invitational (between Concordia of Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan) is in its 69th year, the Pickle Classic at Division II Mount Olive (N.C.) is in its 54th year, the Gary Miller Classic at Division II Gannon (Pa.) is in its 36th year, with the Sig Makofski Invite at Division III Union (N.Y.) in its 35th year.
PAST SHOOT-OUT CHAMPIONS: 2018 – College of Idaho/Eastern Oregon, 2017 – Eastern Oregon, 2016 – C of I, 2015 – C of I/Walla Walla, 2014 – C of I, 2013 – C of I, 2012 – Westminster, 2011 – Lewis-Clark State, 2010 – Westminster, 2009 – Westminster/Lewis-Clark State, 2008 – Westminster, 2007 – Westminster, 2006 – C of I, 2005- Westminster, 2004 – C of I, 2003- Westminster, 2002 – C of I, 2001 – Westminster, 2000 – C of I, 1999 – C of I, 1998 – Northwest Nazarene, 1997 – NNU, 1996 – NNU, 1995 – Willamette, 1994 – C of I, 1993 – C of I, 1992 Central Washington, 1991 – NNU, 1990 – C of I, 1989 – CWU, 1988 – NNU, 1987 – NNU.
RECAP OF 2018 TACO BELL SHOOT-OUT: Both C of I and Eastern Oregon dominated their games in the Shoot-Out, each earning wins over Northwest Indian and Montana Western. The Yotes established a new school record for scoring in their 135-41 win over NWIC, while four players scored in double-figures in a 77-62 victory over Western. EOU rallied for a 71-67 win in their opener vs. Western before rolling past NWIC 122-61 to earn a share of their second-straight tournament title.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – PORTLAND BIBLE: The Yotes open up Taco Bell Shoot-Out play Friday against Portland Bible, the first meeting between the two teams since a stunning 69-63 victory by the Wildcats (0-3) in Portland in 2017. PBC has opened with a loss at Northwest Christian and two losses at Alaska Anchorage – making 37-percent of their field goals in the three contests. Forward Moses McEwen (20.0 ppg, 10.3 rpg) has been the go-to player for the Wildcats – scoring 32 points in the season opener vs. NCU, with guards Joshua Patton (10.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg) and Antoine Wilder (5.0 ppg, 3.3 apg) active in the offense. It is the third meeting between the teams in Caldwell.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – MONTANA TECH: Saturday, C of I gets a rematch with Montana Tech – as the Yotes earned a 90-84 victory over the Orediggers (2-2) two weeks ago in Butte. Tech split games last weekend at home, earning a win over Eastern Oregon and losing to Southern Oregon – but are averaging 99.8 points per game and making 50-percent of their field goal attempts. Post Taylor England (17.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg) is an All-Frontier Conference pick, with the Diggers featuring a quality support cast including Sidney Diallo (15.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg), Troy Owens (14.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg) and Dylan Pannabecker (11.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg). C of I has won 7-straight games in the series.
PREVIEW – MULTNOMAH: The fourth team in the tournament (who does not play C of I) is Cascade Conference rival Multnomah. The Lions (4-1) ranks second in the NAIA in scoring average (108.4) – making 21 3-pointers per game and 50 3-point attempts a night. MU is paced by All-CCC guard Justin Martin (30.2 ppg, 8.2 apg), the 2018-19 NAIA Division II scoring champ, along with fellow guards Zach Richardson (19.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Forrest Smith (14.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg). The Lions played in last season's Domino's Classic – losing games to Montana Tech and Embry-Riddle.
YOTES TANGLE WITH D-I TEAMS: C of I traveled to Utah last week for a pair of games against NCAA Division I opponents – dropping a 103-66 decision at Utah State and lost 59-42 at Utah Valley. The Coyotes led 15-10 early in the first half at USU, before a 20-2 run by the Aggies gave the No. 17 team in the NCAA the lead. At UVU, C of I held the Wolverines to just two points over the first eight minutes – but a cold shooting night and 18 turnovers plagued the Yotes – despite holding UVU to 2-of-21 shooting from 3-point range. Nate Bruneel led the Coyotes in scoring in both games – scoring 12 at USU and adding seven at UVU.
AROUND THE CCC: Five teams sit atop the CCC standings after Week 2 of the season, including second-ranked Oregon Tech, who earned lopsided home wins over Cal Maritime and Northwest Indian College. OIT hits the road to Arizona for a pair of games, while CCC teams play in three tournaments – Corban and Northwest are at the Northwest Classic (vs. Northwest Indian and Salish Kootenai), Walla Walla and Warner Pacific are at the Clearwater River Casino Classic (vs. Lewis-Clark State and Montana Western), with C of I and Multnomah at the Taco Bell Classic.
UNDER 60 / OVER 95 EQUALS WINS: C of I currently has a 35-game win streak 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 1,006 – 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-60 in the career book, paced by Talon Pinckney, who sits at No. 4 in assists (443), No. 6 in steals (181), No. 16 in field goal attempts (899), No. 18 in field goals made (392), No. 20 in points scored (1,067), No. 31 in free throws made (197), No. 32 in 3-point attempts (256), No. 35 in free throw attempts (260), No. 36 in 3-pointers made (86) and No. 41 in blocked shots (24). Nate Bruneel is No. 22 in 3-pointers made (126), No. 27 in 3-point attempts (286), No. 30 in points scored (905), No. 41 in blocked shots (24), No. 44 in free throws made (169, No. 49 in field goals made (305) and free throw attempts (235), No. 58 in field goal attempts (637) and No. 59 in rebounds (350); Connor Desaulniers is No. 30 in blocked shots (34) and Jake Bruner is No. 17 in blocked shots (45) and No. 60 in rebounds (349).
YOTES PICKED SECOND IN CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL, NO. 3 IN THE NAIA 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. In the Preseason NAIA Division II Top-25 Poll, the Yotes were picked No. 3 for the second-straight year – trailing only defending NAIA champ, Spring Arbor (Mich.) and CCC rival, Oregon Tech.
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.
