2021-22 Men's Basketball Notebook (Week 11)

COMING UP: vs. Southern Oregon, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; vs. Oregon Tech, Saturday, 5 p.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
TICKET / FAN PROTOCOLS: Masks are required over the mouth and nose at all times for games this weekend vs. Southern Oregon and Oregon Tech – per the updated Cascade Conference Return to Play Protocols.  Single-Game tickets to Coyote Basketball games are available online through the C of I Ticket Portal. Gates to the Activities Center will open 90 minutes prior to tip-off on game days.

LIVE LINKS: Both the Southern Oregon and Oregon Tech games will be carried live on the Yotes Digital Network ($10 per game, $50 season pass), with Mike Safford calling the action – as Safford begins his 21st year as the Voice of the Yotes. In addition, Live Stats will be available through C of I's SIDEARM Sports Portal. Saturday's game will be broadcast live in Klamath Falls on 92.5 KLAD-FM with Bobby Thompson calling the action.
 
WIN STREAK REACHES NINE: Friday's forfeit win over Evergreen and Saturday's road victory at Northwest extended the Coyotes win streak to nine games – with C of I heading into the huge weekend matchups winners of 13 of their last 14 games. It marks the sixth time since the 2013-14 season that the Yotes have won 9-or-more games in a row – posting a 9-game win streak in 2016-17, an 11-game streak in 2014-15, a 14-game win streak in 2017-18, a 15-game win streak in 2013-14 and the school record 26-game win streak spanning the 2019-20 and 2020-21 season.
 
CONFERENCE HOME STREAK ON THE LINE: 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 from 1997-2000. The last home CCC loss was Jan. 19, 2019 – an overtime setback to Corban.
 
BEST STARTS: The Yotes head into the weekend with a 16-3 record – marking the eighth 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 17-2 (2018-19, when the team started 20-2; and 1995-96, when the team started 23-2), with five other teams starting 16-3 (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).
 
RANKINGS AND MORE RANKINGS: C of I is ranked No. 13 in the latest NAIA Top-25 Coaches' Poll, released on Jan. 19 – their highest poll position of the season. In addition, the Yotes are ranked No. 5 in the first NAIA West ARC rating – which will help determine the 25 at-large bids to the Opening Round of the NAIA Championships, trailing only William Jessup, Carroll, Hope International and Arizona Christian (ahead of Oregon Tech, Vanguard, Montana Tech, Menlo and Lewis-Clark State). The Coyotes also sit at No. 14 in the first NAIA RPI – based on wins, losses and strength of schedule – the second-highest among western teams.
 
ANOTHER FORFEIT WIN: C of I opened last weekend with a victory via forfeit at Evergreen, as the Geoducks were in COVID protocol. It was the Yotes 21st-straight win over TESC, dating back to the 2010-11 season. It was the Coyotes second forfeit win of 2021-22 and their seventh all-time forfeit win, joining 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).
 
SHOOTING NUMBERS REMAIN STRONG: The Coyote offense continued to make plays – converting 48-percent of their field goals at Northwest. Over the past three games, C of I has connected on 98-of-181 shot attempts (.541 percent), including 38-percent shooting from 3-point range. Consistency is the key – as though no player averages more than 11 points per game, nine players average at least five points a night. Drew Wyman leads the squad, averaging 11.2 points a game, with Ricardo Time at 10.8 points a night. Three reserves are among the top scorers – as Ivory Miles-Williams and Johnny Radford each average seven points and game and Jake O'Neil is averaging eight a night.
 
THIRD-STRAIGHT DOUBLE-DIGIT REBOUND WIN: C of I dominated the glass in Saturday's win, posting a 43-25 rebound edge at Northwest. It was the third-straight game the Yotes have recorded over 10 more boards than their opponent – their longest streak since posting six double-digit plus-rebound margins in 2019-20. The 57 points allowed in the game helped the team drop their league-leading defensive scoring average to 65.2 points per game.
 
SEASON HIGH IN HELPERS: The Yotes were in a sharing mood at Northwest, recording a season-high 25 assists on their 32 made field goals. It was the third-straight game C of I has logged 20-or-more assists – the first time in six years that they Coyotes have equaled the feat (Jan. 1-9, 2016).
 
TIME HAS BIG NIGHT IN KIRKLAND: Ricardo Time had the hot hand on Saturday, leading the Coyotes with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. It was the fourth-straight double-digit scoring game for the senior and the 42nd of his career – who is averaging 14.5 points per game over the streak. Time made his only free throw attempt in the game, improving his team-high free throw percentage to .898 – second-best in the CCC.
 
O'NEIL CONTINUES SOLID RUN: Jake O'Neil was key in the win over Northwest, scoring 12 points with six rebounds, his third-straight game with 10-or-more points. During the three-game streak, the sophomore has drained 16-of-23 field goal attempts, averaging 11.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
 
WILSON CONTROLS THE PAINT: For the second time in his career, post Paul Wilson recorded back-to-back double-digit scoring games, tallying 12 points off the bench in Saturday's win. The 7-footer converted 6-of-11 field goals and added four rebounds and three blocked shots – the fifth-straight game he has recorded at least one blocked shot and the third-straight contest with multiple blocks. Wilson has converted 57-percent of his field goals this season, with his team-high 23 blocked shots ranking No. 3 in the CCC.
 
STEADY SENIOR: Ivory Miles-Williams continued his final season in the CCC with another outstanding effort at Northwest, scoring all eight of his points in the second half of the victory. The senior made 4-of-6 field goals and added four rebounds, improving his team-best field goal percentage to .636 – No. 2 in the CCC.
 
ASSIST STRING CONTINUES FOR ELZIE: Point-guard Charles Elzie had another strong game off the bench against Northwest, scoring seven points, adding four rebounds and five assists. It was the third-straight game that the junior has recorded 5-or-more assists – averaging 6.3 assists per game during the run. Elzie leads the team with 48 assists on the year and ranks No. 13 in the CCC in assist-to-turnover ratio (+2.5).
 
WADSWORTH REACHES MILESTONE: With his appearance in Saturday's game at Northwest, Derek Wadsworth became the 28th Coyote men's basketball player to play in 100 career games. Wadsworth is chasing the record of 134 games, shared by Jake Bruner and current assistant, Emanuel Morgan.
 
AT THE MIDWAY POINT: The Yotes head into the second half of the CCC season at 10-1 – the fourth-straight season (not including 2020-21) that C of I has started the back end of the league schedule with 0-or-1 losses. In 2019-20, C of I was 10-0 – en route to the first-ever undefeated season in CCC history (20-0), while in both 2017-18 and 2018-19, the Coyotes sat at 9-1 at the midway point – finishing 18-2 in 2017-18 and 16-4 in 2018-19.
 
COLLISION COURSE IN CALDWELL: The three hottest teams in the conference will tangle in the Activities Center this weekend, as Southern Oregon and Oregon Tech make the 400-plus mile trip east. Southern has rattled off 7-straight wins and is a perfect 4-0 on the road in league play, while OIT brings a 10-game win streak to town. It has been a tough trip for Tech and SOU, as only once in the last 10 years has a team defeated both C of I and Eastern Oregon on the road (Oregon Tech during the 2017-18 season).
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – SOUTHERN OREGON: The weekend opens against a Southern Oregon team that has been without longtime head coach Brian McDermott this season – as assistant Zac Olsen has served as acting head coach and has the Raiders (11-8, 8-3 CCC) playing extremely well. SOU averages 74 points per game and make 47-percent of their field goals on the year – but were limited to just 49 points and a 31-percent field goal clip in a 66-49 home loss to C of I in December. Forwards Josh Meyer (15.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.9 apg) and Joe Juhala (10.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg) lead Southern in scoring, with guards Tez Allen (9.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.3 apg) and Atmar Mundu (10.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg) part of a unit that made 15 3-point field goals in their last win at Multnomah. The Raiders will be looking to snap a 6-game losing streak at C of I, dating back to the 2015-16 season.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – OREGON TECH: The lone unbeaten team in the CCC and the only conference squad to topple the Yotes makes an appearance on Saturday, as Oregon Tech looks for a season sweep of C of I in the 100th all-time meeting. The Hustlin' Owls (14-5, 11-0) boast one of the top offenses in the league – leading the CCC in field goal percentage (.511) and 3-point percentage (.388), while averaging over 10 rebounds per game more than their opponents – with Tech making 54-percent of their field goals and recording a plus-15 rebound edge in the first meeting between the rivals. OIT started the season with a 1-3 record, but have won 13-of-15 since – with two of the losses to No. 4-ranked William Jessup and another to Montana Tech. Veteran forwards Garret Albrecht (12.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg) and Matt Van Tassel (9.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg) lead a deep squad, with returning guard Kaison Faust (10.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg) helped by freshmen Keegan Shivers (11.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and Jamison Guerra (9.5 ppg, 4.3 apg). OIT looks to snap a 3-game losing streak to the Coyotes in Caldwell.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Two teams (Warner Pacific and Evergreen) last week were in COVID protocols and had to forfeit weekend games, bringing the total number of CCC men's basketball forfeits to this season to 11 – with only Walla Walla and Multnomah playing all 11 games in the first half of the season. Along with the huge contests between Southern Oregon, Oregon Tech, C of I and Eastern Oregon, Lewis-Clark State and Walla Walla head to Evergreen and Northwest, with Multnomah and Warner Pacific (if removed from COVID protocol) travel to Corban and Bushnell – with a surging Corban squad taking a 5-game win streak into the weekend.
 
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. 18 in 3-point attempts (344) and No. 23 in 3-pointers made (128), ranking just outside the Top-50 in points scored (755). Derek Wadsworth is No. 26 in 3-point attempts (308), No. 28 in games played (100) and 3-pointers made (106) and just outside the Top-50 in assists (139); with Ivory Miles-Williams No. 18 in games played (111) – just outside the Top-50 in rebounds (382); Paul Wilson No. 30 in blocked shots (37) and Charles Elzie No. 46 in assists (148).
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Yotes will have their final 3-game week of the season, beginning with a Tuesday (Jan. 25) match-up at rival Eastern Oregon, before returning home for key match-ups against Corban (Jan. 28) and Bushnell (Jan. 29) – with the Friday night Corban game the annual Pink Out.