Box Score COSTA MESA, Calif. - In a battle of two top-ten teams in the NAIA the TIU Men's Basketball team suffered just their second defeat of the season, losing 97-80 to #7 College of Idaho on Friday evening.

The Trojans came out of the gate quickly with O'Shae Williams and Jeremy Carlyle scoring early buckets to give TIU the lead 10-7 lead. Back and forth action over the next few minutes saw the Yotes fight back, but Nate Schmidt connected on two straight three's to pull the Trojans ahead 19-13. 

The remainder of the opening half saw both sides trading baskets until the Yotes went on an 11-0 run in the final minutes. With the Trojans shot going cold and the Yotes continuing the fire offensively, TIU went into the locker room trailing 56-43.

In the second half the Yotes continued to dominate offensively, outscoring the Trojans in the paint 34-24 on the night. College of Idaho extended their lead to a game high 24 points midway through the half, and the deficit was too much to overcome for TIU, with the Yotes handing the Trojans their second loss of the season.

"We played a very good team today, and we got dominated in the paint an on the glass, they executed their game plan and we weren't ready for the moment which is my fault as a coach," said Head Coach Boomer Roberts. "We have a young team, and we went through some growing pains tonight. A lot of guys are disappointed by the product we put on the floor so I have no doubt we'll respond tomorrow against another opponent." 

The Trojans will be back in action tomorrow against Life Pacific University at 6 pm.