CALDWELL, Idaho – The No. 3 College of Idaho men's basketball team controlled another contest from start to finish against Northwest, 99-35 on Saturday evening. The stifling defense again was the recipe for success as the Yotes held the Eagles to 35 points to match the fewest by a C of I opponent since Warner Pacific also scored 35 on January 31, 2004.
College of Idaho (14-1, 9-0 CCC), who extended its winning streak to 14, was led by the fourth double double on the season by
Jake O'Neil, who had 10 points and 11 rebounds to pace four Yotes in double figures. O'Neil was joined in double figures by a career-high 15 from
Paul Wilson, 13 from
Samaje Morgan and 12 each from
Drew Wyman and
Tyler Robinett. Also, in the scoring ledger,
Bryan St. Clair poured in nine in a reserve role as the College of Idaho bench outscored Northwest, 52-23 in the win.
Northwest (6-9, 3-6 CCC) was led by a nine-point effort by reserve Dewitt Bullock. The Eagles missed all 22 of its three-point attempts. The last time that a College of Idaho opponent did not make a 3-pointer was when Montana Tech went 0-for-10 on November 16, 2018.
The Yotes scored 22 of the first 26 points in the contest and cruised to a 52-12 halftime lead. To complement a hot-shooting College of Idaho offense, who shot 65.6% (21-for-32) in the first 20 minutes, the tenacious defense held Northwest to 18.2% (6-for-33). It is the third time in four games, College of Idaho had scored 20 points in the first half; whereas, the 12 points by the Eagles is the fewest by an opponent since Montana Tech put up 10 on November 12, 2016.
The second half saw College of Idaho rack up 47 more points as they shot 50% (16-for-32) from the field. The defensive pressure continued as Northwest was limited to 32.1% (9-for-28). Wilson scored eight of his 15 in the second 20 minutes as College of Idaho stretched the lead to as much as 64 on its way to the win.
Next, College of Idaho will be away from home for its next four games as they will travel to the state of Oregon. The four-game road stretch will get underway with a matchup against Bushnell, who is 6-8 overall and 4-4 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, in Eugene on Friday, January 13.
