Yotes Drop CCC Tournament Final to LCSC, 80-71 - Mar 13, 2021
The College of Idaho men's basketball team saw their string of 3-straight Cascade Conference Tournament titles snapped by No. 4-ranked Lewis-Clark State, as the Warriors rode a 30-point night from Damek Mitchell (5'9''-PG-98) to defeat the Yotes, 80-71, inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center. LC (16-1) swept the best-of-three series to determine the CCC's automatic bid to the NAIA Championships, while the Yotes will hope to receive one of the 11 at-large bids to the tournament. A second half run by the Warriors was the difference in the victory - as after the Yotes (7-9) erased a 12-point first half deficit to pull even at 35-35 with 15 minutes to go - LC scored on 6-straight possessions to regain command. Mitchell hit back-to-back 3s, Travis Yenor (6'7''-F-97) hit two free throws, Mitchell had a fastbreak bucket, with Hodges Bailey (6'2''-G-98) canned a triple, as the visitors took a 50-40 lead. C of I cut the gap to 50-44 on baskets from Jake O'Neil (6'3''-G) and Ricardo Time (6'2''-G), but LC went on a 11-2 run to break the game open. The Warriors made 11 3-pointers and scored 16 points off 17 C of I turnovers. Defense was the story in the first half, as the Coyotes missed their first eight shots - falling behind 9-1, before a pair of Derek Wadsworth (5'11''-PG) 3-balls fueled an 11-3 run that got C of I even at 12-12. LCSC answered with a 12-0 run over a 7-minute stretch, taking a 26-14 lead after consecutive Jake Albright (6'6''-F-98) jumpers. Trailing 32-21, The Yotes closed the half on a 6-0 run, capped by a Wadsworth driving lay-up to pull within five and got even early in the second half after consecutive inside baskets from Connor Desaulniers (6'8''-F-97) before LC made their run. Four Coyotes scored in double-figures, led by 16 points and nine rebounds from O'Neil and 15 points off the bench from Wadsworth. C of I made 37-percent of their field goals on the night. Mitchell made 5-of-9 3-point attempts and 9-of-10 free throws, adding five assists, five steals and four rebounds. Bailey scored 13, with Trystan Bradley posting 12 points and 11 rebounds.
NOTES: The loss ended a 9-game home playoff win streak by the Coyotes, dating back to the 2016-17 season Paul Wilson scored a career-high 11 points in the loss, with Time adding 10 points and 10 rebounds C of I had won five of the last seven titles in the event sponsored by U.S. Bank - earning the crowns in 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020 LCSC clinches their eight-straight trip to the NAIA National Championships
Cascade Tournament Finals: Game 2: Lewis-Clark State - College of Idaho 80-71 Game 1: Lewis-Clark State - College of Idaho 74-71
Courtesy of cascadeconference.org
All-Cascade Awards 2021 - Mar 13, 2021
Offensive Player of the Year: Damek Mitchell (5'9''-PG-98) of LC State Defensive Player of the Year: Hodges Bailey (6'2''-G-98) of LC State Freshman of the Year: Jake O'Neil (6'3''-G) of Idaho Coll. Newcomer of the Year: Oreon Courtney (6'2''-G) of LC State Coach of the Year: Austin Johnson of LC State
The College of Idaho men's basketball team saw their string of 3-straight Cascade Conference Tournament titles snapped by No. 4-ranked Lewis-Clark State, as the Warriors rode a 30-point night from Damek Mitchell (5'9''-PG-98) to defeat the Yotes, 80-71, inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
Damek Mitchell (5'9''-PG-98) of LC State
Johnson
