CALDWELL, Idaho – No. 3 College of Idaho punched its ticket to the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament semifinals with a 103-60 win over Northwest on Wednesday night. The win is the 22
nd in a row for the Yotes on the season and its 18
th straight in the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament. Leading the charge was a 17-point effort by
Samaje Morgan as College of Idaho shot 54.1% from the field in the win. It is the 12
th time on the season that the Yotes have shot at least 50% from the field.
Samaje Morgan scored a team-high 17 points in the win.
College Of Idaho (27-2) started the game, shooting 55% from the field and trailed just for :22 in the win. In the first 20 minutes, the host Yotes seized control of the game when they scored 24 of the next 35 points from the 16:59 mark of the first half until the 7:38 point. In that stretch, they made five layups to setup an outside game that was held to 8-for-30 shooting from beyond the arc. The Yotes went into halftime with a 56-25 lead. It was the 11
th time – six of which have happened at home - that they have recorded at least 50 points in the first 20 minutes.
With the outside shots not falling at a familiar clip, it was the inside game for College of Idaho, who made significant contributions as they outscored the Eagles by a 58-34 margin. To complement the inside game, the Yotes made 15 of 19 free-throw attempts.
Morgan was one of five Yotes in double figures in the win along with
Jake O'Neil (16),
Johnny Radford (13),
Drew Wyman (11) and
Straton Rogers (10). O'Neil also pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds for his seventh double double of the season.
Tyler Robinett had four blocked shots to go along with seven points.
Northwest (8-21), who was held to 22.9% shooting in the first half, was led by the play of reserve Miciah Hagan, who had 20 points – 16 of which came in the final 20 minutes. He was joined in double figures by Luke Howard, who had 17 points and Manuel Zapater, who added 11.
Next up for College of Idaho is a matchup against Southern Oregon on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. The two teams split the regular season meetings with the home team winning each contest. The Yotes won the meeting in Caldwell by an 82-50 margin on January 27; whereas the Raiders knocked off the Yotes in Ashland to begin conference play on December 1 by an 81-75 margin. College of Idaho has an all-time CCC Tournament record of 6-2 against SOU. The two teams have played for the championship on three occasions in 2022, 2019 and 2015.
