Box Score
POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - Alex Santiago led four College of the Ozarks players in double-figures with 24 points, as the host Bobcats stunned second-seed College of Idaho, 88-84, in the first round of the NAIA Division II National Championship in Keeter Gymnasium.
C of O (22-10) connected on a season-best 61-percent of their field goals in improving to 9-6 in first-round games at home in the tournament knocking off a Top-3 seed for the second-straight year.
It marked the first time since 1993 that a No. 2 seed lost in their opening round game (then host Northwest Nazarene defeated No. 2 Grace).
The Coyotes (28-6), who had a 15-game win streak snapped, got a three-point play and a three-pointer from Demetrius Perkins to start an 11-2 run that gave the Cascade Conference champs a 13-10 lead in the opening five minutes. C of O responded with a 12-2 run of own, as Santiago canned a trey in the spurt, as the Bobcats took the lead for good.
C of I cut the margin to two points five different times in the opening half – the last at 35-33, but the Yotes committed three straight turnovers in a 12-0 Bobcat run that helped the tourney host to a 48-35 lead at the break.
The margin would balloon to 61-47 six minutes into the second half on an Ethan Murray three, but a four-point play from Taylor Pruett ignited a 9-0 run to get C of I back in the contest.
Joe Vaz converted a turn-around jumper to get the Yotes within 64-62, but the Santiago added two straight baskets, and Austin Selby added two more, as C of O extended their lead to 73-62. The Coyotes made one last run, as a Josh Wilson runner inside the final two minutes cut the lead to two – with C of I having a chance to tie in the waning moments, but a Perkins three rimmed out.
Santiago was 8-of-9 from the field in the win for C of O, with Nathane Simniok scoring 17 points and adding a team-high 12 rebounds. Joe Young had 12 points and Pete Leonard added 11, as the 'Cats held a 40-29 rebound edge and withstood 26 turnovers.
Perkins led the Yotes with 21 points, with Wilson scoring 14, Antonio Garrett 13, and Pruett and Vaz scoring 11. C of I had 18 steals in the loss – including five from Ben Van Lith, but made just 4-of-19 shots from outside the arc in their fourth-straight loss at the national tournament, dating back to 2004.
The Bobcats advance to meet unranked Bethel College in the second-round on Friday.
