March 11, 2015
PHOTO GALLERY - VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – No. 4 College of Idaho held off a late rally to defeat unseeded Dakota State (S.D.) 65-64 in the first round of the 2015 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship.
The Coyotes and Trojans went through two ties in the opening minutes of the game. At 4-4, CI went on a 17-6 scoring run to grab a 21-10 lead and forced DSU to call timeout with ten minutes and forty-six seconds left in the first-half.
College of Idaho maintained their double-digit lead for the first-half, earning a 39-29 halftime advantage.
CI shot 51.6 percent from the field in the first twenty minutes, converting 16-of-31 from the field and 4-of-10 from the 3-point line. DSU was 44 percent from the field (11-of-25 from the field and 1-of-4 from the 3-point arc).
After the Coyotes took the biggest lead of the game by 13 points to kick off the second-half, Dakota State mounted a comeback late in the second half by trimming their deficit by single digit in the last ten minutes of the game.
In the second half, it was more of the same, despite the fact that the Trojans made several runs at the Coyotes throughout the period. Things came to a head with four and a half minutes left, as College of Idaho held a slim 62-56 lead over Dakota State.
There, Demetrius Perkins made a jumper to put College of Idaho up 64-56, a lead they held into the three-minute mark. But, Dakota State converted on two free throws to cut the lead down to 64-58, then, made a lay-up with two minutes left to cut the College of Idaho lead all the way down to 64-60. After the Coyotes missed another shot on their end, DSU made another lay-in to cut the lead all the way down to 64-62 with under a minute left.
With 35 seconds left, College of Idaho stepped to the line with a chance to extend the lead, making 1-of-2 free throws to go up three at 65-62. With 10 seconds left, Dakota State's Derek Mager was fouled shooting a three-pointer and made 2-of-3 attempts from the line, making the score 65-64 in the Coyotes advantage.
With nine seconds left, CofI missed the front end of a 1-and-1, setting the stage for DSU to try to win the game with a last second shot. But, an attempt rattled off the rim at the buzzer, as the Coyotes escaped a valiant upset bid by the Trojans in the process.
Dakota State outscored College of Idaho 35-26 in the second-half. The Trojans shot a blazing 58.3 percent from the field (14-of-24) compared to the Coyotes 45.5 percent (10-of-22).
Four players scored in double figures for DSU. Bryant Allen had a game-high 15 points. Meger added 10 points (4-of-5 field goals). Miguel Sansavour recorded a double-double of 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Nathaniel Rauen scored 10 points off the bench (4-of-7 field goals). Adam Hofer had eight points.
Cameron Robinson tallied nine points and earned six rebounds for the Trojans. Sansavour dished out two assists. Hofer, Robinson, Brendon Boomsma and Rauen each had one assist.
Robinson, Rauen and Taylor Zirbel each recorded two steals for Dakota State.
Marko Kovacevic, Josh Wilson and Joe Vaz each scored 11 points for the Coyotes. Joey Nebeker and Demetrius Perkins each added 10 points.
Emanuel Morgan produced four assists for CI. Nebeker and Wilson each added three assists.
Wilson pulled down five rebounds for College of Idaho. He had four steals.
Dakota State shot 51 percent overall from the field (25-of-49) compared to College of Idaho 49.1 percent (26-of-53). The Coyotes were 7-of-19 from the 3-point line (36.8 percent), while the Trojans were 2-of-8 3-pointers.
DSU was 12-of-18 free-throws (66.7 percent). CI converted 8 free-throws in 12 attempts (60 precent).
The Trojans outrebounded the Coyotes 26-24 in the game, which are 20 rebounds below CI's season average in rebounds per game. Prior to the game, College of Idaho was ranked second in the game in total rebounds per game (43.5 rebounds per game).
The Coyotes had 15 assists while the Trojans had 6 assists.
Dakota State finished their 2014-15 season with an overall record of 17-15, which included their first-ever North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Men's Basketball Conference Postseason Tournament Champions and a share in the NSAA Men's Basketball regular-season title. College of Idaho – 29-5 overall record – moves on to the second round on Friday evening against the winner of No. 13 College of Ozarks (Mo.)-Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) game.
It was the final collegiate career basketball game for three DSU's seniors - Allen, Robinson and Sansavour.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director
