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College of Idaho Yotes Singing ‘Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad’

College of Idaho Yotes Singing ‘Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad’
COLLEGE OF IDAHO’S CADEN HANDRAN, a 6-6, 200-pound point guard for the Yotes, will forever be known as a 2-time national champion after defeating Oklahoma Wesleyan 93-65 on Tuesday, March 25, in Kansas City, Missouri. — Photo courtesy of MHS Visual
College of Idaho Yotes Singing ‘Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad’
COLLEGE OF IDAHO’S CADEN HANDRAN, a 6-6, 200-pound point guard for the Yotes, will forever be known as a 2-time national champion after defeating Oklahoma Wesleyan 93-65 on Tuesday, March 25, in Kansas City, Missouri. — Photo courtesy of MHS Visual
 

They did it again!

The College of Idaho Yotes men’s basketball program captured its second national title in three seasons Tuesday, March 25, at the 87th annual National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament.

The gathering was once again played at the historic Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Missouri and last week’s accomplishment was a dominating effort by the Colby Blaine-coached team, he being named NAIA Coach of the Year. The Yotes, who are based in Caldwell just west of Boise, were so powerful the team’s average margin of victory throughout the playoffs was a staggering 20.0 points per contest! The closest any team came to defeating the Yotes in the playoffs was Friends of Kansas, which occurred in Caldwell. The total six games, in order played, were final margins of 13, 10, 30, 12, 27 and 28.

The program featured Caden Handran (SHS ‘21), a senior who compiled a 137-11 (.925) overall record with the Yotes and a 101-3 (.971) mark with the Scobey Spartans for a total of 238-14 (.944). He is a twotime State C champion in Montana High School Association play and a two-time NAIA national champ.

Not too shabby, eh?

A couple other special players on the Yotes roster are Great Falls High graduate Drew Wyman and point guard Samaje Morgan, both who were instructors at the Caden Handran Basketball Camp in the Scobey School gym in the summers of 2023 and 2024.

College of Idaho—35-2 overall record, 21-1 conference, 20-1 home, 11-1 away, 4-0 neutral site, active win streak 25—took an early 11-4 advantage 3:04 into the first half against Oklahoma Wesleyan but the Eagles pulled within 18-17 by the 13:07 mark.

“We changed our defense for this game,” said Handran Saturday, March 29, during an afternoon interview with the Leader via telephone. “We started in a 1-3-1 zone defense and then changed off at times into a 2-3 zone.”

The Yotes went ahead 36-22 following an 18-3 scoring run, which ended with 7:27 until halftime. The Eagles closed within 11 but by halftime College of Idaho’s advantage grew to 49-29 and then 58-35 early in the second half. Thereafter the closest the Oklahoma team could get was within 16 points.

When it ended the score was 93-65 and the big Red Banner was headed to southwest Idaho.

“They were a Cinderella team,” said Handran of the Eagles, “and should have been a higher seed.”

“We scouted them during their semifinal game on Monday,” said Wyman, who was named NAIA Second Team All-American. “Our bench came in and scored three 3-pointers down the stretch. When the Yotes are hitting we are hard to stop.”

College of Idaho hit 3461 (.557) of their overall field goals, netted 16-30 (.553) treys and 9-18 (.500) free throws.

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