COMING UP: at No. 19 Whitworth, Wednesday, 6 p.m. (PT); at No. 19 Whitworth, Thursday, 6 p.m. (PT)
BROADCAST INFORMATION: Both games in Spokane will be broadcast on Whitworth's
Presto Sports Portal, with Bud Nameck calling the play-by-play. Links to Live Stats will be available on the C of I
Men's Basketball schedule page.
SCHEDULE UPDATES: The Yotes have tentatively added six games to their schedule, though game times have yet to be announced as the teams work on logistics. C of I will play a home-and-home series with Lewis-Clark State (at LC on Jan. 18, hosting LC on Feb. 4), host Simpson for a pair of games, Jan. 22-23, while looking to schedule dates with rival Northwest Nazarene on Jan. 26 and Feb. 6.
FEWEST GAMES IN A SEASON: The Coyotes have played eight games so far this season and if they are able to play the seven potential games on the docket – would finish with 15 contests prior to any postseason scenarios. The fewest games played by a C of I team since the end of World War II was in 1945-46, when the Yotes played 19 games (going 2-17). The Coyotes played a total of 10 games combined from 1943-45, while from 1919-36, C of I never played more than 15 countable games – though the team added multiple games against local "town" teams (American Legion, Police Departments and Fire Departments)
HOME OPENER STREAK CONTINUES: Friday's overtime win over William Jessup extended the Yotes home opener win streak to 8-in-a-row, dating back to a loss to Northwest Nazarene. C of I improved to 70-28 all-time in home openers, with the team not playing home games in 1921-22, 1922-23 and 1935-36.
ANOTHER STREAK: The win fell on New Year's Day, with the Coyotes now 4-0 all-time on the first day of the year. C of I picked up wins previously in 1960 (over Whitworth), 1999 (over Cascade) and 2000 (against Oregon Tech).
BUT, THE BIG STREAKS END: Saturday's loss snapped two long-standing C of I streaks – a home win streak and a win streak against NAIA teams. The victory by William Jessup ended a 15-game win streak by the Coyotes in the Activities Center and ended a 27-game string of wins against NAIA teams – both dating back to November of 2019.
40 MINUTES NOT ENOUGH: The home opener was a tight match-up, with the game decided in overtime – C of I's first 45-minute game since the 2018-19 season (an 88-84 win over Cornerstone at the NAIA Championships). The Coyotes have a 46-32 all-time record in overtime games – with the win their first OT home win since an 86-82 win over Northwest Nazarene in 2018. C of I has played 18 double-overtime games, while playing a pair of triple-overtime games in the 1960s.
STRANGE WITHOUT THE YOTE FAM: The J.A. Albertson Activities Center is arguably one of the toughest venues in all of NAIA Basketball – but was silent this weekend, as fans have been prohibited due to precautions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the start of the 2013-14, season, the Coyotes have posted a staggering 110-12 overall record on their home floor – including an 18-1 record at home last season – averaging over 1,450 fans per game, tops among all small college teams in the Northwest. Since the Activities Center opened in 1991, the Yotes have recorded a 327-96 all-time record – with the mark ballooning to 443-105 when accounting the previous decade at O'Connor Fieldhouse.
TIME HAS BIG WEEKEND: Leading the way for the Coyotes in both weekend games was guard
Ricardo Time, who scored a combined 40 points and added 12 rebounds in the two contests. The senior recorded a career-high 23 points on Friday afternoon and fueled a C of I second half run with steals on consecutive possessions, while adding 17 points in Saturday's loss. He hit a combined six 3-point attempts and has made at least three 3-pointers in 22 career games.
O'NEIL THE WINDEX MAN: Since landing a spot in the starting line-up after an injury sidelined forward
Ivory Miles-Williams,
Jake O'Neil has taken the opportunity and ran with it. The redshirt freshman has been instrumental on the glass, recording 5-or-more rebounds in five of his six starts. O'Neil logged a career-high and C of I season-high with 12 rebounds on Friday, the most boards by a Coyote since
Connor Desaulniers pulled down 13 boards in a 2020 playoff win over Corban, adding nine more rebounds on Saturday – improving his season average to a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game. He also got into the scoring knack, scoring nine points in both games, making 50-percent of his field goal attempts and contributed three steals and two blocks.
DOUBLE-DIGIT GAMES FOR WADSWORTH AND WILSON: C of I got production from their bench on both nights – as
Derek Wadsworth and
Paul Wilson logged their first double-digit scoring games of the season. Wadsworth broke out of an early season shooting slump, making 3-of-7 3-pointers on the weekend – scoring 11 in Friday's win and adding five more points on Saturday. Wilson scored a career-best 10 points in Saturday's loss, combining for 13 rebounds and three blocked shots in the two games.
ELZIE DISHES IT UP: It was the best weekend of the season for point-guard
Charles Elzie, who earned a starting role in Saturday's matinee and posted a career high in assists. The sophomore scored eight points off the bench on Friday and parlayed that into seven assists on Saturday – the most of any C of I player since
Talon Pinckney had eight assists vs. Northwest Christan in January of 2020. Elzie played a career-high 29 minutes in each of the two games.
DESAULNIERS REACHES MILESTONE: With a rebound late in Saturday's game with William Jessup, post
Connor Desaulniers became the 25th C of I player in program history to record 500 or more rebounds in a career. The senior pushed his career total to 501 and is just the sixth player in the last two decades to achieve the mark. Desaulniers had a season-high seven rebounds and added nine points in Friday's win.
GALLOWAY SEES STREAK SNAPPED: After scoring in double-digits in each of the first six games, forward
Jalen Galloway saw his run snapped by William Jessup. The junior combined for 15 points in the two games, but picked up the pace on the glass, combining for 14 rebounds – tying a season-high with nine boards in Saturday's loss.
3-POINT DEFENSE STELLAR: A staple of the Coyotes success has been their 3-point defense – as opponents (including five Division I teams) have been limited to 28-percent shooting from outside the arc – ranking among the Top-25 of all NAIA teams. Of the Yotes eight opponents, seven have had shooting percentages from 3-point range below 33-percent, including a 5-for-26 performance by Seattle U and a 7-of-33 performance by William Jessup on Friday.
SEASON HIGHS: The Yotes established season-highs in a pair of stat categories against William Jessup – recording 11 steals in Friday's win and adding 51 rebounds in Saturday's loss. It was the most rebounds since posting 52 boards in a road win last season at Northwest Christian, while it was the most steals since logging 14 in a 2020 home victory over Oregon Tech.
FREE THROW STRUGGLE: After starting the season as one of the top free throw shooting teams in the NAIA, the Yotes have struggled from the stripe over the past five games. Through the first three games, C of I made 31-of-38 free throws (.816 percent), but since that time, have converted just 52-of-96 tries (.542 percent) – dropping the shooting percentage for the season to .629 percent.
OFF TO SPOKANE, TITLE GAME REMATCH: The 1995-96 season was a special one for the Coyotes – finishing 31-3 and winning the NAIA Division II national title. The team they beat in the title game – Whitworth – finally earns a rematch with C of I this week after 24 years. The two teams were common opponents throughout the 1940s, 50s and 60s and shared a spot in the Northwest Conference for six seasons, with the Pirates holding a 19-12 all-time series edge – including a 13-2 series lead in Spokane. However, the title win for C of I ran a win streak over Whitworth to seven games – including their last two meetings in Spokane, including a Chuck Blackhurst 20-point effort in a 79-72 road win in December of 1985.
ABOUT WHITWORTH: The Division III Pirates (23-6 in 2019-20) will be making their 2020-21 season debut after the Northwest Conference announced their Return to Play protocols – as the four Washington schools (Whtiworth, Whitman, Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran) will play a round-robin schedule. WU shared the NWC title last season and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the Division III national championships, before the tournament was scrapped due to COVID-19. Second-year head coach Damion Jablonski has to replace three starters from the squad – including third-team All-American Ben College – who was the NWC Player of the Year. The cupboard isn't bare for the Bucs, as guards Isaiah Hernandez (13.0 ppg, 2.6 apg) and Jordan Lester (11.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg) are back, along with post Liam Fitzgerald (8.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg), part of a squad that averaged 86 points per game.
FORMER LEAGUE MATES: C of I and Whitworth both competed within the Northwest Conference from 1971-78 – as the Yotes were charter members of the longstanding small-college league in 1926, while WU joined the circuit in 1971. The Coyotes shared league crowns in men's basketball in 1946, 1955 and 1956, while the Pirates winning the title in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2007, 2008, each year from 2010-16 and sharing the title last year with Linfield.
RECORD BOOK: Three Yotes rank among the Top-50 in C of I's career record book, as
Connor Desaulniers is No. 9 in blocked shots (83) and No. 25 in rebounds (501);
Ricardo Time is No. 33 in 3-pointers made (94) and No. 40 in 3-point attempts (224); with
Ivory Miles-Williams No. 34 in games played (94).
AROUND THE CASCADE CONFERENCE: The lone other CCC team competing this winter, Lewis-Clark State, picked up a pair of home victories over the weekend – defeating Dickinson State 86-82 and 86-68 – improving to 7-0 on the season. LC head coach Austin Johnson picked up his 100th career win in the Friday victory. The conference has yet to announce the postseason structure to determine the single bid from the league to the NAIA National Championships.
YOTES RANKED #15: The first regular-season NAIA Top-25 poll was released prior to the Christmas Break, with C of I dropping to No. 15 in the tabulation. The Yotes are one of two Cascade Conference teams in the poll, as Lewis-Clark State dropped two spots to No. 7. It marks the 30th-straight polling period that C of I has been in the Top-25.
AROUND THE NAIA: A total of 180 of the 231 men's basketball playing schools in the NAIA have begun their 2020-21 season, with some teams already completing 18 games. A total of 23 teams are currently undefeated, including No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan (17-0), No. 2 William Penn (11-0), No. 3 Mid-America Christian (4-0) and LSU Shreveport (8-0). Eleven of the 20 NAIA conferences have begun league play – with teams in the Appalachian Athletic, Great Plains Athletic and Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conferences already having 11 conference games in the books. The CCC is the only league in the NAIA with the majority of its teams having not played a game in 2020-21.
A NEW LOOK NAIA: The 2020-21 season marks the first time since 1991 that the NAIA will operate with just one division in basketball – combining the Division I and Division II leagues. The association will operate with an eight scholarship maximum (three less than the Division I used previously, but two more than the Division II allowed). The change will also affect the NAIA Championships, as the field will grow from 32 teams to 64, starting with 16 4-team Opening Round sites, with each of the 16 winners earning a trip to the Final Site in Kansas City. The J.A. Albertson Activities Center has been certified as a potential venue for the NAIA Opening Round, with the decision made by the national office in February.
3-POINT STREAK: 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 1,044 – one of five programs (UNLV – 1,108, CCC rival, Duke – 1,097, Corban – 1,090, Arkansas – 1,055 and Western Kentucky – 1,052) which have made a 3-pointer in over 1,040-or-more straight games.
UNDER 60 POINTS / OVER 95 POINTS: C of I currently has a 48-game win streak in games where opponents fail to reach 60 points – and a dominating 205-12 mark in such games over the last 40 years. During the same stretch, the Coyotes are 58-2 when opponents fail to score 50. In addition, the Yotes have won 47 of their last 48 contests (dating back to 2006) when scoring 95 points per game.
