SPRING SPORTS DRAWING CLOSER: We are now just two weeks away from the beginning of the spring sports season.  The baseball team is the first to kickoff its 2002 campaign on Feb. 15, with the softball team playing its inaugural game in San Diego against Point Loma Nazarene on Feb. 19, and the women’s tennis team opens at Lewis-Clark State on March 9.

MEN’S BASKETBALL:   18-9, 8-5 in CCC

LAST WEEK’S RESULTS: Beat Eastern Oregon (71-67), lost to No. 9 Evergreen (80-65), beat Northwest (71-56)

THIS WEEK: at Cascade, Friday, 8:30 p.m. (MST); at Warner Pacific, Saturday, 8:30 p.m. (MST)

COYOTES CLINCH PLAYOFF BERTH, NOW BATTLE FOR HOME DATES: By winning 2-of-3 games last week, the Albertson men’s basketball team has assured itself one of the eight berths in the Cascade Conference post-season tournament.  With that in hand, the ‘Yotes now look to secure as many home playoff games as possible.  The four highest seeds host opening round games, with the two remaining high seeds hosting the semifinals.

EVERGREEN WOMPS COYOTES: If anyone is not a believer that The Evergreen State College men’s basketball team is the tops in the Cascade Conference, there must be a problem.  The ninth-ranked Geoducks, playing without the CCC’s leading scorer Quincy Wilder, dominated the Coyotes on Friday, winning 80-65 in the Activities Center.  The ‘Yotes shot just 25-of-67 from the floor, their third-worst shooting performance of the year, as Evergreen won for the 13th consecutive time.

REWIND…ALBERTSON WINS DOOZEY IN LA GRANDE: Before the debacle against Evergreen, the ‘Yotes made their yearly exodus across the Baker Mountains on Tuesda, slip-sliding their way to face Eastern Oregon.  In a game that featured 27 lead changes and 12 ties, Albertson scored the final five points to win 71-67 – handing the Mountaineers their tenth-consecutive loss.  Kris Cox (Provo, Utah / BYU-Idaho) hit a runner in the lane with a minute left to give the ‘Yotes a 68-67 lead, and Neal Robertson (Richland, Wash. / Columbia Basin CC) hit 3-of-4 free throws in crunch time to salt away the win.  The victory avenged a 65-60 loss to Eastern in Quinn Coliseum last year.

ANOTHER LOSING STREAK TO TEN?: It isn’t often that one team can deal two different squads their tenth- consecutive loss in one week.  But that was the case for the ‘Yotes, as Albertson held Northwest College to just 18 second half points in a 71-56 victory over the slumping Eagles, Saturday night.  Northwest led 38-27 at the break, but shot 6-of-28 from the field in the second half.  Mike Homik (Hamilton, N.Z. / West Valley College) keyed a 25-5 second half Albertson run, scoring eight of his game-high 25 points for the victors.  The win also halted a two-game home losing streak by the Coyotes.

FRESHMAN EARNS MINUTES: Patience sometimes pays off.  After seeing just 26 minutes of action during the ‘Yotes first 24 games, true freshman Zach Rasmussen (Boise, Idaho / Bishop Kelly HS) surpassed that total in the three games this week.  Rasmussen played a season-high 15 minutes in both the Eastern Oregon and Evergreen games, hitting a key trey in the win at Eastern, and scoring six points and grabbing five rebounds in the loss to Evergreen.  “Zach doesn’t act like a typical freshman on the floor,” said head coach Mark Owen.  “He is someone who will do great things for this basketball team in the future.”

UNDER 70 FACTOR: Here’s one startling, yet very visible statistic for the Coyotes – Albertson has an 18-4 record when scoring 70 or more points.  However, when scoring under the 70 point mark, the ‘Yotes have lost all five decisions (Boise State, La Verne, twice to Southern Oregon, and Evergreen).

TRIPPLE RETURNS, THOMAS QUESTIONABLE, SHAW OUT: An up-and-down week for the health of the Coyotes.  After missing two and a half games, senior Tennison Tripple (Pocatello, Idaho / Lane CC) returned to the line-up against Northwest, scoring ten points in 20 minutes off the bench, a week after injuring an ankle at Concordia.  Guard Jon Thomas (Nampa, Idaho / Gem State Academy) had a rough week, battling a pesky head cold.  The bug limited the junior’s effectiveness, as Thomas managed to hit just 1-of-10 treys this week.  Forward Ty Shaw (Nampa, Idaho) will most likely not return from a series of devastating injuries to his left knee.  The senior All-American tore his ACL in the knee against Rocky Mountain in November, and tore his LCL in the same knee at Western Baptist, earlier in the month. 

FOUL SHOOTING STILL KEY: The consistent stroke from the foul line for the ‘Yotes continued this week, as Albertson connected on 42-of-59 free throws, or 71-percent.  On the season, the Coyotes have hit just under 76-percent of their charity tosses – which is among the top-five in the NAIA Division II.  Tennison Tripple consecutive free throw streak is still at 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 saw his free throw streak end at 36, after missing the front end of a two-shot foul at Eastern Oregon.

FINAL REGULAR SEASON ROAD TRIP: The Coyotes hit Southwest Airlines one final time during the regular season, heading back to Portland, Ore. for the second time in three weeks.  Friday, Albertson heads to Cascade College, for a rematch with the Thunderbirds (14-12, 5-7), who stopped the ‘Yotes 109-91 in Caldwell, earlier in the month.  Since the win, Cascade has dropped four of their last six CCC counters, including a tough 80-79 loss at Oregon Tech on Saturday.  Fruitland native Matt Evers (17.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg) has been outstanding for head coach Craig Moody, recording double-doubles in five of his last seven games.  Albertson will have to stop guard Will Walker (17.4 ppg), who torched the ‘Yotes for 30 points in the T-Birds win.  Albertson holds a 25-3 all-time record against Cascade.  Saturday, the team moseys down Glisan Street to Warner Pacific, looking for a season-sweep of the Knights (13-12, 6-6).  WPC has dropped three games in a row and 4-of-5, by an average of 19 points a game.  However the Knights are a very dangerous team, led by guard Andrew Twiss (18.2 ppg) – and have a 7-2 record inside Perry Gym.  The 77-71 win over Warner Pacific earlier in the year extended the Coyotes streak to ten-straight over the Knights, the longest winning streak for Albertson over any opponent.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Team - Scoring Average (80.7 4th in CCC), Scoring Defense (75.5 – 6th), Field Goal Percentage (.455 - 7th), Three-Point Percentage (.371 – 4th), Free Throw Percentage (.758 – 1st), Rebounds (35.0 – 4th), Rebound Margin –2.3 – 6th), Turnovers (12.8 – 1st).  Individual: Scoring Average (Neal Robertson– 17.5), Field Goal Percentage (Mike Homik - .586), Three-Point Percentage (Jon Thomas - .406), Free Throw Percentage (Tennison Tripple – 45-of-45, 1.000), Rebound Average (Eric Hare (San Miguel de Alleude, Mexico / West Valley College) – 6.7), Assists (Kris Cox - 89), Steals (Kris Cox - 41), Blocked Shots (Mike Homik - 31).

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.