Peoples nets 19, C of I wins NAIA title

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Samaje Morgan scored a season-high 28 points, Dougie Peoples had 21 points and five 3-pointers, and No. 1 seed College of Idaho beat seventh-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan 93-65 on Tuesday night to claim its second NAIA championship in three years.  

College of Idaho (35-2) won the program's third national title, also securing the NAIA Division II championship in 1996 and a D-I title in 2023. The Yotes lost in the Fab Four last season. Oklahoma Wesleyan (28-8) also won a NAIA D-II championship in 2009.  

Johnny Radford made a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to give the College of Idaho a 33-18 midway through the first half. The Yotes made 12 of their opening 15 shots, including 8 of 10 from 3-point range.  

The Yotes boast four Montanans on their roster, including Peoples, who did his damage in 15 minutes of floor time: The Butte Central product finished the first half with 17 points and five 3-pointers.  

Starting forward Drew Wyman out of Great Falls had three points and five rebounds; Alex Germer (Missoula Sentinel) played three minutes and didn’t score; Caden Handran (Scobey) had two points, three rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes. 

Morgan had 12 points by halftime as the College of Idaho took a 49-29 lead. The Yotes were 11 of 17 from 3-point range. The Eagles didn’t get closer than 16 the second half. 

Radford finished with 12 points for the College of Idaho and Tyler Robinett added 10. The Yotes finished 16 of 30 from behind the arc.  

Nick Bene and Jaden Lietzke each scored 15 points for Oklahoma Wesleyan. Dylan Phillip, who scored a team-high 24 points on Monday, finished with five points in 19 minutes.