CALDWELL, Idaho – Riding their best shooting night of the year, The College of Idaho closed out their regular-season with a 90-80 victory over rival Eastern Oregon inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The Yotes (8-9) won their ninth-straight match-up with their longtime rival – the 55th-straight year the two teams have met on the hardwood.
Jalen Galloway scored a game-high 26 points, while
Derek Wadsworth posted a career-high 19 points and six assists – as C of I made 58-percent of their field goals (33-of-57), including 52-percent of their 3-pointers (15-of-29).
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Paul Wilson scored five straight points and Wadsworth canned consecutive triples in a 15-0 first half run that built the Yotes a 24-11 lead, which grew to 39-22 on a steal and basket from
Charles Elzie.
EOU (1-1) rallied behind Zane Wright, who hit seven first half 3-pointers, including 4-straight late in the period, as the Mountaineers cut the deficit to 46-41 at the half. The run continued in the second half, as Paul Pennington scored all seven of his points in a 10-2 run that gave the visitors a 54-51 lead with 15:34 remaining in the game.
Johnny Radford answered with back-to-back 3-pointers, starting a 10-0 C of I run – and the Yotes would not look back. Radford would hit his third trey of the half and Galloway added a 3-point play in a 15-2 run that pushed the lead to 81-64.
Galloway made 10-of-14 field goals, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, with Wadsworth adding five triples. Wilson had 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, with Radford scoring nine.
Wright led the Mounties with 21 points – but did not attempt a field goal in the second half. Justin Jeske had 17 points and eight rebounds, with Preston Chandler tallying 12. C of I limited All-America guard Max McCullough to just four points on 2-of-14 shooting, with the senior posting seven assists and seven turnovers.
