COLLEGE PLACE, Wash. – A 17-2 run over the final seven minutes of the first half broke open a tie game, as No. 10-ranked College of Idaho took over first place in the Cascade Conference with an 80-58 road win at Walla Walla.
The Coyotes (22-4, 16-2 CCC) moves one-half game ahead of Oregon Tech in the standings after the Owls dropped a road contest at Corban. With the victory, C of I clinched a CCC Tournament quarterfinal home game on Wednesday, Feb. 23.
WWU (3-21, 2-15) used a 6-0 run midway through the first half, capped by an Ethan Ford lay-up to tie the game at 24-24. For a second-straight night, C of I clamped down on the defensive end, forcing five turnovers and holding the Wolves to just 1-of-9 shooting over the final seven minutes – taking control of the contest.
Consecutive 3-pointers from
Ricardo Time and
Drew Wyman started the run, with a Wyman bucket and a
Caden Handran dunk giving the Yotes their first double-digit lead – as the visitors took a 41-26 lead to the break.
The hosts cut the gap to 47-37 on an Andrew Vaughan jumper early in the second half – but triples from Time and
Johnny Radford keyed an 11-2 C of I run that put the game out of reach.
C of I converted 53-percent of their field goal attempts in the win, held a 41-24 edge on the glass, while outscoring WWU 24-6 off turnovers.
Wyman and Time led the Coyotes with 14 points, with
Tyler Robinett adding 11 points and
Jake O'Neil scoring 10 points with nine rebounds. Handran scored a career-high eight points, adding six assists.
KiAndre Gaddy led the Wolves with a game-high 28 points and 10 rebounds.
The Coyotes close out their regular-season home schedule next weekend, hosting Northwest on Friday and Evergreen on Saturday.
