The College of Idaho held off a furious comeback by Northwest University for a 77-75 league victory on New Year’s Eve. NU had battled back from a 16 point deficit with seven minutes remaining as the Coyotes held on for the win.

The teams battled to a 38-38 tie in the first half with NU’s Ben Tucakovic (Boise, Idaho) 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.

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 (Custer, Wash.) and 14 points from Zach Smith (Monroe, Wash.). Michael Dupree (Tacoma, Wash.) 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.

Northwest U returns home and will host Northwest Christian and Corban on Jan. 8 and 9 in the Pavilion.