THIS WEEK: at Eastern Oregon, Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. (MST); host No. 11 Evergreen, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; host Northwest, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

‘YOTES OFF THE SHNIDE: The time was now for the Albertson men’s basketball team as it continued its five-game road trip through the Cascade Conference, after beginning the swing with a goose-egg in the southern reaches of Oregon.  The ‘Yotes said sayonara to its season-high three-game losing skid with a pair of impressive road victories at Western Baptist and Concordia.  The wins, coupled with timely losses by Oregon Tech and Warner Pacific, have vaulted Albertson into a tie for fourth-place, and a game out of second – with eight games remaining. 

COACH MATTY’S “D” WORKS: For the last few weeks, assistant Garry Matlock has been spending countless hours trying to break the ‘Yotes out of its defensive funk.  After allowing Western Baptist to shoot 59-percent in the first half of Friday’s game, Albertson put the clamps on the rest of the weekend.  Over the next three halves, the Coyotes picked up the defensive pressure, and limited their opponents to just 33-of-100 shooting. 

BIG COMEBACK AT WESTERN: Things looked bleak early in the second half at Western Baptist, ranked No. 20 in the NAIA Division II.  The ‘Yotes fell behind 66-51 with 13:29 remaining.  However, following a timeout, the Coyotes of old emerged for the first time in two weeks.  What transpired was a 17-2 run, capped by a Neal Robertson (Richland, Wash) trey to pull even, and clutch baseline runner from Tennison Tripple (Pocatello) with a minute remaining, giving Albertson the season sweep of the Warriors.

SHAW OUT AGAIN: Another unfortunate turn of events in the never-ending saga of Ty Shaw (Nampa).  The senior, who made a miraculous return last week after tearing the ACL in his right knee, injured the LCL in the same knee on Friday night.  Shaw, who was inserted into the starting line-up at Western, blocked a shot on the play midway through the first half, but landed awkwardly on the knee.  The All-American had scored five points, grabbed four rebounds, and blocked two shots before the injury.  Shaw will be evaluated by the Albertson medical staff on Monday.

PERSEVERENCE KEY AT CONCORDIA: The following night, the ‘Yotes broke a string of seven consecutive games of halftime deficits by jumping out of the gates early in the win over Concordia.  Fueled by 17 first half Neal Robertson points, Albertson took a 40-31 lead at the break.  The Cavs turned up the defensive heat, rallying to 57-55 midway through the second stanza, but Kris Cox (Provo, Utah) nailed a trey, and followed it with a four-point play, extending the lead back to nine – leading the ‘Yotes to victory.

ROBERTSON OUT OF SLUMP: It is safe to say that Neal Robertson is back.  After missing 12 consecutive three-pointers over the past weekend, the senior stepped up to the plate, draining ten treys this weekend, leading the ‘Yotes on the road.  Robertson tallied a season-high 34 points in the win over Western, and added 28 more against Concordia – earning Cascade Conference Player-of-the-Week honors – the third different Coyote to do so this year. Robertson was also 18-for-18 from the foul line.

ANKLE LIMITS TRIPPLE: Shaw was not the only Coyote to go down with an injury.  Late in the first half against Concordia, Tennison Tripple went down with an ankle injury, following a drive to the basket in which he was called for a charge.  The senior’s ankle was swollen on Sunday and his availability for this week is up in the air.  Furthering the injuries, Kris Cox took a blow to the head late in the Concordia game and did not return.  Cox will play this week, as will a nice shiner on his right eye – from the blow.

MORE ON GREAT FOUL SHOOTING: The consistent stroke from the foul line for the ‘Yotes continued this week, as Albertson connected on 48-of-57 free throws, or 84-percent.  On the season, the Coyotes have hit over 76-percent of their charity tosses – which is among the top-five in the NAIA Division II.  Tennison Tripple extended his consecutive free throw streak to 46, just five off of Kade Wilson’s school-record of 51 set during the 1994-95 season, and just 14 away from the national record of 60, set by Dan Rough of Whitworth, five years ago.  Incidentally, Neal Robertson has built a nice streak as well, nailing 34 straight free throws.

FINALLY HOME (ALMOST): It will be exactly 20 days since the Coyotes have taken the floor for a home game when they return on Friday night, but before they do, they must make the jaunt up I-84 to meet pesky Eastern Oregon.  The Mountaineers (4-13, 1-9) are in the depths of a nine-game losing streak, including a 105-45 debacle at Gonzaga, ranked in the NCAA Division I’s Top-20.  Just as Concordia had been close in conference, so has Eastern, as the Mountaineers have kept eight of their ten CCC tight at halftime (with the exception of games with Western Baptist and Evergreen).  EOU is led by forward Trevor Exline (12.2 ppg), but the squad ranks at the bottom of the conference in 12-of-18 team categories.  Albertson has won two straight against the Mountaineers, and 38-of-44, but dropped last year’s battle in La Grande.  The ‘Yotes go from the cellar-dweller to the top-dog on Friday, as Albertson returns to the Activities Center, trying to end an Evergreen 11-game win streak.  The Geoducks (16-5, 10-1) currently are ranked No. 11 in the NAIA Division II, their first-ever national ranking in the five-year history of their program, and have a two-game lead in the conference race.  The potent trio of Quincy Wilder (CCC best 22.2 ppg), All-American Andre Stewart (19.2 ppg), and Mike Parker (16.8) have ran roughshod through the CCC.  Evergreen clammed up the ‘Yotes down the stretch earlier in the year, stopping Albertson, 89-82.  Despite the loss, the Coyotes hold a 3-2 series advantage, including 18 and 19 point wins in Caldwell.  The weekend and mini two-game homestand ends with a Saturday date with Northwest.  The Eagles (2-9, 5-17) have fallen on hard times, losing nine of their last ten games – despite holding second half leads in more than half of the games (including their 89-75 loss to Albertson).  Post Dan Schneider (13.5 ppg) and forward Tyrone Ellis (12.7 ppg, 10.0 rpg) are a potent tandem.  The Coyotes have never lost to Northwest in Caldwell and hold a 7-2 advantage all-time over the Eagles.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Team - Scoring Average (82.2 3rd in CCC), Scoring Defense (76.8 – 6th), Field Goal Percentage (.465 - 6th), Three-Point Percentage (.382 – 2nd), Free Throw Percentage (.763 – 1st), Rebounds (34.3 – 5th), Rebound Margin –2.6 – 6th), Turnovers (12.9 – 1st).  Individual: Scoring Average (Neal Robertson– 16.9), Field Goal Percentage (Mike Homik (Hamilton, N.Z.) - .596), Three-Point Percentage (Jon Thomas (Nampa) - .481), Free Throw Percentage (Tennison Tripple – 45-of-45, 1.000), Rebound Average (Eric Hare (San Miguel de Alleude, Mexico) – 6.8), Assists (Kris Cox - 74), Steals (Kris Cox - 39), Blocked Shots (Mike Homik - 28).

CONFERENCE STANDINGS:

ON THE AIR AND INTERNET: All 32 regular season men’s basketball games can be heard live on 1490 KCID-AM with Mike Safford Jr. calling the play-by-play.  Catch all three games this week on the ‘Home of the Coyotes.’  If you cannot find a radio or are outside of the KCID listening area, log on your computer to www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/mbasketball/profiles/0102/AthleticsLive.asx to listen to the game live via the internet.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/mensbasketball.