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COMPLETE MEDIA GAME NOTES
YOTES OFF TO BEST START IN CCC HISTORY: No Cascade Conference team has completed a perfect regular-season – with only two teams finishing the year with one loss (the 1995-96 C of I team finished 13-1, with the 2001-02 Evergreen team finishing 17-1). With their 15-0 start to CCC play, the Coyotes have established the best start in league history – surpassing the 1995-96 C of I squad and the 2006-07 Warner Pacific team to win their first 11 games in a row. The school record for consecutive league wins is 23 – beginning Feb. 26, 1954 and ending Jan. 16, 1956 in a triple overtime loss at Pacific – when the Yotes were a part of the Northwest Conference, which ranks as the third-longest streak in the 95-year history of the NWC.
WIN STREAKING: C of I has rattled off 16 wins in a row and are unbeaten this year against NAIA Division II teams. It marks the longest win streak in the shot clock era, surpassing a 15-game streak during the 2013-14 season. The streak is the longest in 65 years – second only to the Elgin Baylor-R.C. Owens 1954-55 team that won 18-straight games.
BEST STARTS BY A C OF I TEAM: The Yotes head into Wednesday's game with a 22-3 record – equaling the best 25-game start in program history and marking the third time in program history that a C of I team has recorded 22 wins in their first 25 games. The 1984-85 team began 22-3 (improving to 23-3 before a loss), while the 1995-96 team began 22-3 – finishing the season as NAIA champions with a school-record 31-3 mark.
POLL POSITION: The latest NAIA Division II Top-25 coaches' poll will be released on Wednesday – with C of I the only team in the Top-7 that went unbeaten during the three-week period. The Coyotes have been ranked 17-straight weeks in the Top-10 and have been ranked in the national poll for 24-straight weeks.
20-WIN SEASONS: With C of I's win Jan. 25 vs. OIT secured the Yotes fourth-straight 20-win season and their sixth in the last seven years. The Coyotes have recorded 26 all-time 20-win seasons, 11 25-win seasons and three 30-win seasons – including each of the last two years.
YOTES CLINCH POSTSEASON BERTH: C of I has clinched a spot in the Cascade Conference Championships, the 23rd-straight season with a postseason berth and the 38th playoff appearance in 39 years. The squad has guaranteed a quarterfinal home game in the tournament – with the contest set for Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. C of I has an 87-53 all-time playoff record, including a 32-17 mark in the CCC Championships and have advanced to 22 NAIA National Tournaments. C of I has played 57 all-time postseason games at home (between Kirkpatrick Gym, O'Connor Fieldhouse and the Activities Center), posting a 48-9 all-time record.
HOME SWEET HOME: Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Coyotes have posted a 105-12 record inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center – including a 13-1 home mark this season and a 37-game win streak from 2013-15. Since the JAAC opened in 1991, the Yotes are 321-95 all-time in the arena and have posted a 437-104 in home games since 1981-82 (including a 56-game home win streak in the 1980s). C of I has averaged 1,394 fans a game over their first 14 home games – and leads the Cascade Conference in attendance – ahead of Oregon Tech (1,142), Southern Oregon (588) and Northwest (448) - and ranks second in the NAIA behind Dakota Wesleyan (1,969). The Yotes rank ahead of 103 NCAA Division I programs in attendance – including Eastern Washington (1,351), Idaho State (1,216), Portland State (1,081) and Idaho (942); with C of I ranking ahead of 294 of the 309 Division II schools (ahead of rival NNU (654)) and ahead of 418 of 419 Division III schools (ahead of Whitworth (790) and Whitman (532)).
OVER 100 WINS: Two Coyotes have surpassed the 100-win mark during their playing career – establishing a new record with every C of I win. With the weekend wins,
Jake Bruner improved to 103-24 in a Coyote uniform, with
Talon Pinckney right behind him with a 102-23 mark.
BEST OFFENSIVE WEEKEND OF THE YEAR: Relying on defense for the majority of the season, the Yotes went on the offensive in Portland, recording their best shooting weekend of the season. C of I converted 69-of-133 field goals in the two games (.518 percent), including 20-of-46 3-point shots (.435 percent) – including a banner 13-of-25 effort from long range at Warner Pacific. The Yotes averaged 85.5 points over the two games – just the third time this season C of I has scored 80 or more points in back-to-back games.
CONTROLLING THE GLASS: Rebounding was the key in the victories, as the Coyotes recorded double-digit rebound margins in both games – logging 12 extra rebounds at Multnomah and a 19-rebound edge at Warner Pacific. It marked the 11th and 12th times this season that C of I has recorded at least 10 or more rebounds than their opponent, with their plus-eight rebound margin ranking No. 2 in the CCC and No. 9 in the NAIA.
BRUNER HAS CAREER NIGHT: During his Coyote career, forward
Jake Bruner has been one of the squads top post defenders – but in Portland, the senior took on an offensive role. At Multnomah, Bruner made his first seven field goals on the night, finishing with a career-high 21 points, logging his third double-double of the year, adding 10 boards. One night later, he added 10 points and eight rebounds at Warner Pacific – finishing the trip making 14-of-20 field goals.
OFF THE BENCH: Reserve forwards
Ivory Miles-Williams and
Jalen Galloway recorded back-to-back double-figure scoring games in Portland, providing a key offensive punch in the wins. Miles-Williams ran his string of double-digit scoring games to a career-best five – making 10-of-19 field goals, averaging 12 points per game – with Galloway making 8-of-11 field goals, scoring 10 points in both contests.
BRUNEEL FINDS HIS RHYTHM: Leading scorer
Nate Bruneel has rebounded from a rough shooting stretch to post dominant numbers over the Coyotes last three games. The senior has connected on 17 of his last 25 field goal attempts, including 8-of-10 from 3-point land – upping his season 3-point average to 38-percent – and ranks No. 11 in the CCC in points per game (14.0).
TIME NEAR PERFECT: Ricardo Time led C of I with 15 points in Saturday's win at Warner Pacific, converting five 3-point field goals in a game for the third time his season. The junior made 5-of-6 triples in the victory – improving his team-best 3-point percentage to .448 – the third-highest average in the CCC. He is one of 12 players in the league to make 50-or-more 3-pointers this season.
AROUND THE CCC: Big matchups with playoff implications dot the schedule this weekend, including Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon traveling to Northwest Christian and Corban; Multnomah and Warner Pacific traveling to Northwest and Evergreen; with Eastern Oregon playing a doubleheader at Walla Walla.
OPPONENT PREVIEW – EASTERN OREGON: The Coyotes will play their third road game six days, traveling Wednesday to rival Eastern Oregon – meeting their travel partner for the second time this season. The Mountaineers (11-11, 5-8 CCC) are among the top scoring teams in the NAIA – averaging 93 points per game (scoring over 100 points seven times), making a league-best 51-percent of their field goals. Two of the three top scorers in the CCC are Mounties – 7-foot post Jared Schetzle (19.8 ppg, 9.9 rpg) and former All-American Max McCullough (19.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg), with swingman Landon Jones (15.9 ppg, 9.5 rpg) nearly averaging a double-double. The Coyotes have won the past two meetings in La Grande and 6-straight in the series.
C OF I VS. EOU DATES BACK TO THE 1930'S: Though C of I has played more games against Northwest Nazarene than any other team, the Coyote-Eastern Oregon match-up is the longest continuous active rivalry. The two teams have met every season since 1945-46 (74-straight years) – with the series dating back to 1933, with the only two seasons the teams did not meet due to a travel ban during World War II.
UNDER 60 / OVER 95 EQUALS WINS: C of I currently has a 43-game win streak in games where opponents fail to reach 60 points – and a dominating 200-12 mark in such games over the last 40 years. During the same stretch, the Coyotes are 57-2 when opponents fail to score 50. In addition, the Yotes have won 45 of their last 46 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 1,029 – one of five programs (UNLV – 1,094, CCC rival, Corban – 1,083, Duke – 1,081, Arkansas – 1,033 and Western Kentucky – 1,032) which have made a 3-pointer in over 1,025-or-more straight games.
RECORD BOOK: Four Yotes are ranked among the Top-65 in the career book, paced by
Talon Pinckney, who sits at No. 3 in assists (525) and in steals (229), No. 4 in games played (123), No. 8 in games started (90), No. 9 in field goal attempts (1,049), No. 11 in points scored (1,277), No. 13 in field goals made (461), No. 21 in 3-point attempts (318), No. 22 in free throws made (245), No. 23 in free throw attempts (319), No. 26 in 3-pointers made (106), No. 43 in blocked shots (24) and No. 62 in rebounds (347).
Nate Bruneel is No. 3 in games started (96), No. 6 in 3-pointers made (169), No. 9 in 3-point attempts (399), No. 13 in points scored (1,220), No. 19 in field goals made (409), No. 20 in free throw attempts (323) and in field goal attempts (866), No. 25 in free throws made (233), No. 31 in rebounds (459) and No. 34 in blocked shots (32);
Connor Desaulniers is No. 11 in blocked shots (65) and No. 48 in rebounds (390); with
Jake Bruner No. 3 in games played (125), No. 14 in games started (73), No. 26 in rebounds (480) and No. 28 in blocked shots (38).
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.
