College of Idaho ascends to No. 1, clinches NAIA national tournament berth
The College of Idaho men’s basketball team is ranked No. 1 in the NAIA Division II Top 25 poll, which was released Wednesday.
The Yotes are ranked No. 1 for the third time in program history. On Friday, they clinched the Cascade Collegiate Conference regular-season championship for the sixth time in program history with a 105-59 win over Evergreen.
Winning the conference championship earned the Yotes an automatic bid to the NAIA Division II National Championships on March 11-14 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It’s their 15th Division II tournament bid in program history, and the Yotes have made the semifinals the past two seasons.
College of Idaho (25-3) has won 19 straight games and is the first team in CCC history to reach 18-0 in conference play. For the third straight season, the Yotes have won at least 25 games, and their winning streak is a new program record and the longest active streak in the NAIA.
Meridian native Nate Bruneel leads the Yotes with 13.8 points a game, and he’s averaging 4.3 rebounds a night. He was an honorable mention All-CCC pick the past two seasons, and he led the team last winter with 12.8 points a game.
Junior Ricardo Time and senior Talon Pinckney both average 10 points a night, and Time’s 5.3 rebounds a game are tied for second on the team with senior Jake Bruner. Junior Connor Desaulniers leads the squad with seven rebounds a night.
College of Idaho wraps up the regular season on the road at Northwest Christian on Friday and Corban on Saturday. The Yotes will have home-court advantage throughout the CCC Tournament, which begins Feb. 26.
This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 4:25 PM.
