LEGACY PROGRAM: Friday night will see the recognition of the Legacy Program which dates back to the 2019-20 season. Head Coach
Colby Blaine has established a program that connects the Yotes men's basketball program to the students of the various Caldwell elementary schools. Students are encouraged to give back in the form of volunteer hours to receive tickets to Friday's game.
SITTING AT THE TOP: The Yotes ascended to the No. 1 spot from the No. 3 spot, in the fourth NAIA Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll and remained there in this week's poll. The Yotes secured 17 of 20 first-place votes to stay at the top. The Yotes have spent parts of five seasons ranked at the top with three weeks being the longest ranking as College of Idaho ended the 2019-20 season at the top in the final three polls. The Yotes have been ranked in the last 12 polls, dating back to the preseason poll in 2021-22. The next ranking is due to come out on Wednesday, February 8.
ROBINETT SECURES CCC WEEKLY HONOR: Sophomore forward
Tyler Robinett became the first Yote in 2022-23 to be named the CCC/Rize Laboratory Player of the Week. The first since
Drew Wyman (Jan. 3, 2022). To secure the weekly honor, he had a pair of season-best performances, last week to lead the No. 1 Yotes to road wins over Oregon Tech on Friday and Southern Oregon on Saturday. He scored a career-high 21 points to go along with seven rebounds and two blocked shots in the 87-75 win over Oregon Tech. Then, Robinett wrapped up the weekend as he matched a career best with 10 rebounds to go along with nine points in the 60-54 victory over Southern Oregon.
SAMAJE SANTA: Freshman
Samaje Morgan handed out 11 assists against Oregon Tech on January 20. It was his second game of dishing out double-digit assists on the season, earlier this year, he had 10 assists against Madonna on November 26, 2022. He is the first Yote since Talon Pinckney in 2017-18, who had three games with double-digit assists. Pinckney was the last to hand out 11 assists in a game on October 27, 2017 against Northwest Indian. The last Yote to hand out double digit assists in a CCC game was Samaje's brother and current Yote assistant
Emanuel Morgan, who had a school record 17 against Walla Walla on February 18, 2017.
HOME SWEET HOME: With wins over Evergreen and Northwest, College of Idaho extended its home winning streak to 29 games. Since the start of the 2013-14 season, College of Idaho has posted a 143-16 record. Last season, the Yotes posted a 20-1 mark at home surpassing the 2019-20 team that finished 18-1 at home, with both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 teams finishing 17-0. Since the Activities Center opened in 1991, the Yotes have recorded a 358-99 all-time record – with the mark ballooning to 475-108 when accounting the previous decade at O'Connor Fieldhouse.
BEVO FRANCIS AWARD: Sophomore guard
Drew Wyman was one of the 100 on the watchlist released by Small College Basketball for the Bevo Francis Award. The first list features 100 players from DII, DIII, NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA men's basketball. The award was created in 2015 and is named after Clarence "Bevo" Francis. Francis played two seasons at what is now the University of Rio Grande. In his first season, he led the team to a 39-0 record averaging 50.1 points per game, highlighted by a 116-point performance against Ashland College in Kentucky. Read more about the award at
https://www.smallcollegebasketball.com/bevo-francis-award-2.
CENTURY CLUB: When College of Idaho put up 118 points in the win over Walla Walla it was the most points that the Yotes had put up against a conference opponent in program history (previous record: 116 vs. Southern Oregon on 2/22/1992). College of Idaho has eclipsed the 100-point mark on three occasions on the season. The last time the Yotes broke the century mark three or more times in a season was in the 2019-20 season when the Yotes eclipsed the mark three times. The 118 points are the most by a C of I squad since they scored a school record 135 against Northwest Indian College.
MORE ON THE WIN OVER WALLA WALLA: The 118 points tie for the 10th most in a single game in program history; the 48 field goals made are the 8th most in a single game and the 64% shooting from the field ranks 14th best in a single contest.
