Caldwell, Idaho | The Warner Pacific University Men's Basketball team (15-17, 10-12) had their Cinderella Story Postseason come to an end Saturday night, as they fell in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Semifinals to the host #1-seeded (#9) College of Idaho Yotes (28-4, 20-2) tonight 64-97, who have now advanced to their fourth consecutive CCC Championship to be played next Tuesday night.
After upsetting the #2-seeded Oregon Tech Owls last Wednesday night in Klamath Falls, Ore., the Knights looked to complete an even more incredible feat Saturday night: defeating a Top-10 nationally ranked conference opponent on their own home court. The Yotes had suffered just one home defeat this entire season, which was just their 5
th overall game of the season against Northwest Nazarene.
In order to do so, Warner Pacific needed to correct their mistakes from their previous matchup against the Yotes on February 18
th. Stretch the floor on offense, play consistent defense, and convert when given opportunities would put a sizeable dent in the physical advantage a group as fast and large as C of I can be.
Unfortunately for Knights' fans, there wasn't much of that in the first half for Warner Pacific, as the Yotes ran wild in the first 20 minutes to take a 19-point lead into the halftime break. WPU was able to keep within striking distance for a majority of the first period, but allowed a late Yotes run to become the difference maker for Knights' Head Coach
Jamayne Potts' locker room discussion.
The Knights once again came out of the halftime break to go on an scoring run to outscore the opponent, dropping a 9-5 run to cut the lead to 15 points. However, this would be the lowest scoring-margin Warner Pacific would see for the rest of the evening, as the Yotes extended the lead to 20+ on the 13:09 mark in the second half, and would only grow upon it over the remainder of the game, in route to their 97-64 victory.
Senior forward
Miles Brown left it all on the court for the final game of his collegiate career, scoring a team-high 14 points, collecting a team-high four rebounds, and dealing out an assist to cap off another successful season at WPU. Senior guard
Isaac Etter, who has one final season of eligibility next season, scored 13 points and tied a team-high four assists in the Knights' efforts.
Yotes' guard Ricardo Time held an extremely hot hand all evening for C of I, scoring a game-high 23 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including 5-for-7 from beyond the three-point arc, all while collecting four rebounds and three assists. Guard Jake O'Neil added 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds off the bench, along with three assists.
Warner Pacific Men's Basketball will return home to Portland with a final season record of 15-17, and will graduate four seniors into the next graduating class at WPU. With four sophomores and one freshman, Coach Potts will return a large majority of this year's squad next season, looking to make even more waves in the CCC come the winter of 2022.
