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B Tucakovic MBB
Al Kawashima

Men's Basketball

Eagles Comeback Falls Just Short at C of I

Ben Tucakovic, from nearby Boise, led the Eagles with 24 points tonight
Box Score CALDWELL, Idaho – The College of Idaho held off a furious comeback by Northwest U for a 77-75 league victory tonight. NU had battled back from a 16 point deficit with seven minutes remaining as the Yotes held on for the win.

Dominic Hulsey's driving lay in with 7:59 remaining in the game would give C of I a 78-62 lead. Freshman Alex Smith's 3-pointer would spark a 15-2 Eagle run cutting the Yotes' lead to three, 80-77, with 3:10 on the clock. C of I would then go up six, 83-77, after two free throws by Joey Nebeker. With the Yotes up five, 85-80, a big 3-pointer by the Eagles' Daniel Ghebremichael would cut the lead to 85-83 with 28 seconds remaining. C of I would then miss two free throws with 21 seconds showing on the clock. On the next Eagle possession, Michael Dupree would miss a two footer to tie with :11 left in the game. Dak Shagren would hit two free throws to pull NU to within one with five seconds to go, but following a Yote missed free throw with three seconds to go, a long NU pass would be picked off to end the game.

The teams battled to a 38-38 tie in the first half with NU's Ben Tucakovic scoring 15 of his 24 points in the period. C of I's defense held NU's leading scorer, Michael Dupree, to just three points in the half.

The College of Idaho would outscore Northwest U 27-14 in the first nine minutes of the second half aided by 8 free throws to lead by 15, 67-52 at 11:05.

In addition to Tucakovic's game high 24 points, Northwest U (7-9, 3-4 CCC) got 15 points and 9 assists from Dak Shagren and 14 points from Zach Smith. Michael Dupree scored seven points in the second half to finish with 10 points. The Eagles shot 53 percent in the second half and 48 percent for the game.

The College of Idaho (9-6, 4-2 CCC) was led by Joey Nebeker's 22 points and 11 rebounds. Aitor Zubizarreta added 20 points and 10 rebounds with Emanuel Morgan dropping in 15 points along with 5 assists. C of I held a 50-35 rebounding margin over the Eagles and hit 46 percent of their shots.

"I was proud of our guys tonight as they never quit battling out there," said John Van Dyke, Eagle head coach. "Credit C of I for making shots and making their free throws when it counted. It's tough winning on the road in our conference, but our guys were in this one right to the end."

Northwest U returns home and will host Northwest Christian and Corban next weekend on January 8 and 9 in the Pavilion.
 
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Players Mentioned

Daniel GHEBREMICHAEL

#10 Daniel GHEBREMICHAEL

G
5' 11"
Redshirt Freshman
Dak Shagren

#21 Dak Shagren

G
6' 3"
Junior
Michael Dupree

#11 Michael Dupree

G
6' 1"
Junior
Ben Tucakovic

#20 Ben Tucakovic

P
6' 7"
Junior
Alex SMITH

#2 Alex SMITH

P
6' 7"
Freshman
Zach Smith

#30 Zach Smith

P
6' 5"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Daniel GHEBREMICHAEL

#10 Daniel GHEBREMICHAEL

5' 11"
Redshirt Freshman
G
Dak Shagren

#21 Dak Shagren

6' 3"
Junior
G
Michael Dupree

#11 Michael Dupree

6' 1"
Junior
G
Ben Tucakovic

#20 Ben Tucakovic

6' 7"
Junior
P
Alex SMITH

#2 Alex SMITH

6' 7"
Freshman
P
Zach Smith

#30 Zach Smith

6' 5"
Senior
P