CALDWELL, Idaho — The No. 4 College of Idaho men's basketball team capped off a dominant opening weekend of Cascade Conference play with a hard-fought 74-66 win over No. 25 Oregon Tech on Saturday night at the J.A. Albertson Activity Center. The victory followed Friday's decisive win over Southern Oregon and solidified the Yotes as early frontrunners in the conference.
Dougie Peoples continued his stellar weekend, scoring 13 points off the bench to complement his 17-point performance in Friday's opener. Senior Drew Wyman led the Yotes on Saturday with 15 points and nine rebounds, showcasing his consistency after breaking the school record for career starts in the previous game.
Saturday's matchup was a battle between two nationally ranked teams. Both squads were tied at 40 at halftime before the Yotes (7-1, 2-0 CCC) asserted control in the second half. Leveraging their size and rebounding prowess, the Yotes out-rebounded the Owls 41-33, with Wyman and Paul Wilson combining for 16 boards.
Johnny Radford added 12 points, including critical baskets during a decisive second-half run, while Straton Rogers chipped in 10 points on a near-perfect 5-of-6 shooting performance.
Oregon Tech (5-3, 1-1 CCC) was led by Jamison Guerra, who scored a game-high 21 points and recorded four assists. The Owls stayed competitive behind strong three-point shooting, hitting 11-of-26 from beyond the arc, but struggled at the free-throw line, converting just 43.8% of their attempts.
The Yotes also excelled defensively, forcing 10 turnovers and holding the Owls to only 16 points in the paint. Combined with Friday's win over Southern Oregon, College of Idaho demonstrated its ability to handle some of the toughest competition in the Cascade Conference.
The Yotes will now turn their attention to next weekend, where they face a road test against Eastern Oregon University.
