2021-22 Men's Basketball Notebook (Week 10)

COMING UP: at Evergreen, Friday (Canceled - COVID-Forfeit Win for C of I); at Northwest, Saturday, 5 p.m. (PT)

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
TICKET / FAN PROTOCOLS: Northwest will be prohibiting visiting fans from attending basketball games this weekend – per their institutional COVID-19 protocols - allowing only current NU students and staff.

LIVE LINKS:  With fans unable to attend this weekend's road game, Northwest will offer both Live Video and Live Stats will be available via their Stretch Internet Portal.
 
STREAKING: Friday's win over Multnomah and the forfeit victory over Warner Pacific ran the Yotes win streak to seven games, with C of I heading into this weekend winners of 11 of their last 12 games. It is the sixth time in the last seven seasons that the Coyotes have recorded a win streak of at least seven games - recording both a seven and eight-game streak in 2018-19; a 14-game win streak in 2017-18; a 9-game win streak in 2016-17; an 11-game run in 2015-16 and the school-record 26-game streak spanning the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. The 2013-14 team also posted a 15-game win streak – the first win streak of 7-or-more games since 2003-04. C of I currently has a string of 18-straight home Cascade Conference victories – their fourth longest home win streak since the creation of the league. C of I won 23-straight home conference games from 2012-16 and had 21-game CCC win streaks from 2016-18 and also from 1997-2000.
 
BEST STARTS: The Yotes head into the weekend with a 14-3 record – marking the ninth time in program history that a C of I team has recorded 14 wins in their first 17 games. Twice, the Coyotes have opened the year 15-2 (2018-19, when the team started 20-2; and 1995-96, when the team started 23-2), with six other teams starting 13-3 (2006-07 started 15-3; 1983-84 team started 18-3; 2014-15 team started 21-3; both the 1954-55 and 1984-85 teams started 23-3, with the 2019-20 team ending the season 31-3).
 
YOTES CLIMB IN TOP-25 POLL: The win streak has helped the Coyotes jump five spots in the latest NAIA Top-25 Coaches' Poll, ascending to No. 13 – their highest mark of the year. C of I received 340 voter points from the 21 conference raters and was one of six Western ARC teams in the poll – joined by No. 4 William Jessup, No. 6 Carroll, No. 8 Arizona Christian, No. 18 Hope International and No. 20 Lewis-Clark State. The next poll will be released on Jan. 26.
 
BACK TO BACK 50-PERCENT NIGHTS: The Coyotes rolled to a 90-72 victory over Multnomah on Friday, converting 54-percent of their field goal attempts. It was C of I's second-straight game making over 50-percent of their shot attempts – as the Yotes have made 50-percent of their field goals in back-to-back games in 11 of the last 13 years (only the 2017-18 and 2020-21 teams did not achieve the feat). It was the fourth time this season the Coyotes have made 50-percent of their field goal attempts.
 
HUGE EFFORT ON THE GLASS: C of I had a dominant defensive effort against the top scoring team in the Cascade Conference, posting a 50-21 rebound margin against Multnomah. It marked just the third time a Coyote team has recorded a rebound margin of 29-or-more in a CCC game since 2000 (posting a 66-28 rebound edge vs. Multnomah in 2018 and a 72-31 margin against Evergreen in 2014). During the same stretch, the Yotes have recorded 30-or-more rebounds more than their opponents just four times – the aforementioned games, along with contests vs. Trinity International (52-19 margin) and Northwest Indian (62-39 margin), from the 2017-18 season.
 
SHARING THE BASKETBALL: The Yotes recorded a season-high 23 assists on the 37 made field goal attempts against Multnomah, the fourth time this season C of I has logged 20-or-more helpers. Eight different players had at least one assist – with seven of the players recording at least two dishes. Charles Elzie led the way with six assists – the third time in 2021-22 the junior has posted 6-or-more assists in a game and leads the squad with 43 assists on the year.
 
FORFEIT WINS: Warner Pacific did not make the trip to Caldwell for Saturday's game, as the Knights are on an institutional directed 14-day COVID pause. The forfeit win marked the sixth all-time forfeit win – as C of I earned two wins from Walla Walla during the 2018-19 season (when WWU canceled their season), two wins from Cascade in 2001-02 (for the usage of an ineligible player), and a win over Carroll in 1980-81 (for the usage of an ineligible player).
 
WILSON HAS PERFECT NIGHT: Headlining the big win over Multnomah was the play of post Paul Wilson, who scored a career-high 18 points, adding six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. The third-year player converted all nine of his field goal attempts (including two dunks) – becoming just the third Coyote to finish a game with 9-or-more made field goals without a miss. Steve Masten holds the school record, going 13-for-13 in an 85-84 double-overtime loss at Eastern Oregon in 1981, while Chuck Blackhurst finished 9-for-9 in an 89-72 win over Whitworth in 1986. Wilson is converting 58-percent of his field goals on the season, a number that climbs to 65-percent in CCC play.
 
BEST SHOOTING NIGHTS IN CCC HISTORY: The big night by Paul Wilson was among the best in league history – as only six players have made more field goals in a game without a miss. Southern Oregon's Mike Staley holds the record, going 13-for-13 in the CCC's first season in 1993-94, while two players have posted 11-for-11 games (Nathan Fromm of LC State this season and Thomas Pierce of Concordia in 2013). Three players have finished 10-for-10 in a game – Oregon Tech's Harrison Steiger and Andrew Weber in 2018, with Corban's Joel Johnson achieving the mark in 2016.
 
SENIORS SHINE: Seniors Ricardo Time and Derek Wadsworth were instrumental in the Yotes win over Multnomah. Time had his third-straight double-digit scoring game (and 41st of his career), narrowly missing a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds. Wadsworth converted 5-of-10 shots from 3-point range, scoring 15 points in the victory – his third career game with 5-or-more made 3-pointers.
 
O'NEIL DOUBLES UP: Jake O'Neil came off the bench Friday, recording his second double-double of the season, scoring 13 points, along with 11 rebounds. It was the sixth career double-double for the second-year Coyote, who ranks No. 9 in field goal percentage (.569) in league games and No. 14 in rebound average (5.8).
 
MAKING LAY-UPS: Getting to the rim had been a specialty for point-guard Caden Handran, as the true freshman was a perfect 3-of-3 from the field against Multnomah, tying a career-high with six points. Handran has converted over 58-percent of his field goal attempts on the season – most from close range – while against MU, posted his eighth game with 5-or-more rebounds and his fifth game with 3-or-more assists.
 
EVERYONE PLAYS: Friday's big win allowed the Coyotes to let everyone in uniform to receive playing time – including senior Nathan Burman, sophomores Tyler Harris and Connor Cooper, along with freshman Stratton Rogers. Two of the players found their way in the box score – as the 6-foot-10 Harris had two points and two rebounds, while Rogers added a rebound.
 
FRIDAY NIGHT FORFEIT: C of I was to have met Evergreen on Friday night, but the Geoducks are the latest CCC team to enter a COVID pause – with their games vs. the Yotes and Eastern Oregon becoming forfeit wins – extending the Purple & Gold's win streak against the Greeners to 21. The TESC game would have been interesting, as the Geoducks do not have a player taller than 6-foot-5, but feature two of the Top-10 scorers in the league (Austin Curry at 16.1 points a game and Labrandon Price at 14.8 points a game).
 
OFF TO WASHINGTON FOR ONE GAME: C of I will make the long trip to the shores of Lake Washington on Saturday to meet Northwest University – looking to extend a 10-game win streak against the Eagles. The Yotes have won their last three trips to Brodin Pavilion – with the last loss on New Year's Eve of 2016, a 70-68 setback – the second of two games coached that year by Colby Blaine (head coach Scott Garson was away awaiting the birth of son Sidney). Outside of stand-alone games with NU in the early years of the CCC, the last time C of I played a single game in Western Washington was in 1993 (February midweek game at St. Martin's).
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – NORTHWEST: Saturday will mark the back-end of a weekend doubleheader for Northwest, while the Eagles (6-8, 3-6 CCC) will face a C of I team coming off an 8-day break. NU has dropped their last five games on the court – but two of the contests were one-possession games and another was in overtime. The Eagles offense is averaging 75 points a game, but rebounding has been an issue – allowing more than four boards per game to their opponents. Returning forward Tanner Davis (10.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg) has been surrounded by a group of quality guards, including Rayvaughn Bolton (13.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.1 apg), Connor Drinkwine (11.6 ppg) and CaCoa Chatman (10.4 ppg, 4.1 apg).
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: With Evergreen and Warner Pacific in COVID protocol and the hopes that both Lewis-Clark State and Bushnell are coming out of protocol, the CCC schedule looks to have some quality match-ups to round out the first half of the season. Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon head to Multnomah, where the Lions are 7-1 this season, with Corban (and hopefully Bushnell) heading to Walla Walla (and hopefully LCSC) and Eastern Oregon joining C of I to meet Northwest. OIT is the lone unbeaten team in the circuit at 9-0, with C of I a game back at 8-1, while LCSC and a surging SOU squad at 6-3.
 
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The J.A. Albertson Activities Center is arguably one of the toughest venues in all of NAIA Basketball, as the Coyotes have posted a staggering 124-16 overall record on their home floor since the start of the 2013-14 season. Since the Activities Center opened in 1991, the Yotes have recorded a 340-99 all-time record – with the mark ballooning to 456-108 when accounting the previous decade at O'Connor Fieldhouse.
 
RECORD BOOK: Five C of I players are ranked in the Top-50 of the career record book – as Ricardo Time ranks No. 20 in 3-point attempts (339) and No. 23 in 3-pointers made (126), ranking just outside the Top-50 in points scored (738). Derek Wadsworth is No. 26 in 3-point attempts (307), No. 28 in games played (99), No. 29 in 3-pointers made (105) and just outside the Top-50 in assists (137); with Ivory Miles-Williams No. 18 in games played (110) – just outside the Top-50 in rebounds (378); Paul Wilson No. 33 in blocked shots (34) and Charles Elzie No. 49 in assists (143).
 
LOOKING AHEAD: C of I returns home next weekend, set to play four of their next five games in the Activities Center. The Yotes will host Southern Oregon (Jan. 21 / 7:30 p.m.) and league-leading Oregon Tech (Jan. 22 / 5 p.m.) and following a mid-week game at Eastern Oregon (Jan. 25 / 7:30 p.m.), host Corban (Jan. 28 / 7:30 p.m.) and Bushnell (Jan. 29 / 5 p.m.).