ASHLAND, Ore. – College of Idaho held Southern Oregon to a season-low 29-percent shooting from the field, completing a weekend road sweep with a convincing 70-49 victory over the Raiders at Lithia Motors Pavilion.
The No. 5-ranked Coyotes (11-3, 4-0 CCC) won for the first-time in SOU's new arena – completing just their third sweep of the Oregon Tech-Southern road trip in the last 20 years. C of I extended their win streak to five games and their 37th-straight win when an opponent failed to reach the 60-point mark.
Connor Desaulniers closed out a stellar weekend with a game-high 17 points and nine rebounds, making 8-of-12 field goal attempts.
Nate Bruneel added 13 points, with both
Talon Pinckney and
Jalen Galloway scoring 11.
The Yotes shot 54-percent from the field in the final 20 minutes, outscoring the Raiders (8-4, 2-2), 38-22, following the break.
SOU opened the game on a 14-5 run – getting back-to-back 3-pointers from Aaron Borich and a long triple from Teron Bradford. The Yotes answered back with a 14-2 run of their own over a five-minute stretch, with Bruneel canning a trey and adding a driving lay-up, to give C of I their first lead. Desaulniers closed the half with consecutive baskets on the block to give the visitors a 32-27 lead.
C of I continued the run in the second half – holding Southern to just one made field goal in the first five minutes – as Bruneel and
Jake Bruner each hit 3's to extend the margin to 46-31. The visitors put the game away with a 20-7 run – pushing the lead to as many as 24 points – as the Coyotes made 54-percent of their second half goal attempts.
No Raiders player scored in double-figures, with Tez Allen leading SOU with nine points and eight rebounds. C of I dominated Southern in the paint, outscoring the No. 18 ranked team in the NAIA Division II, 42-14, while holding a 43-31 rebound margin – their fifth-straight game with a double-digit rebound margin.
The Coyotes return to action on Jan. 3, hosting Corban University.
