TWIN FALLS, Idaho – After trailing by 14 at halftime and by as many as 17 points in the first half, the Yavapai College men's basketball team stormed back in the second half on Thursday night in its season opener, defeating the No. 10-ranked College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles 87-83 to move to 1-0 on the season. 

Last season, the Golden Eagles went 20-0 at home during the regular season. Thursday night's victory also doubles as Head Coach Kevon Davis's first win at YC and his first win as a head coach. 

"I'm very proud of our team," said Davis after the big win. "It is a special moment for our kids and for our community. We hope to build on this win."

It truly was a tale of two halves on Thursday night in Twin Falls as a poor shooting start for the Roughriders led to a 27-10 CSI lead with just under 10 minutes left to play in the first half. 

Later in the half, sophomore guard Ray Glasgow drove to the basket and hit a nice shot to cut the deficit to 31-19. On the next possession, Glasgow drove again, this time dishing the ball to freshman guard Khalil O'Bannon who promptly knocked down a three. On the next drive, Glasgow drove once more and drew a foul and hit one of his free throws to cut the deficit to just 34-23 with five and a half left to play. 

The 11-point deficit was as close as YC would get in the first, however, as the teams headed to the locker room with CSI leading 45-31. 

On the opening possession of the second half, freshman guard Raphael Dupouy knocked down a clutch three, which proved to be the theme of the night for the Roughriders. 

After a couple of CSI baskets brought the score to 49-34, YC went on a 7-0 run to get within single digits, aided by a putback from Dupouy after an offensive rebound, layup from sophomore guard Kieran Carr and a three-pointer from sophomore guard Tym Richardson. 

With just under 15 minutes left on the clock, Dupouy knocked down his second three ball of the half and was followed by a nice transition score from Richardson to cut the deficit to six points at 54-48. 

From there, the shooting woes of the first half became a distant memory for the Roughriders as they began to rain three pointers while flipping the contest upside down. 

Freshman guard Nadir Myers knocked down an NBA-range three ball to get YC within three points and hit another two possessions later to pull the squad within four points. 20 seconds later, O'Bannon hit his second three of the night to pull the Roughriders within two points at 59-57 with just over 10 minutes to play. 

One minute later, and after flashy baskets from Richardson and Glasgow tied things up at 61-61, CSI was forced to call a timeout with nine minutes remaining and all momentum with the Roughriders. 

After the timeout, Richardson promptly knocked down a three ball to give YC its first lead since leading 3-2 two minutes into the contest. CSI, however, would not let YC run away easily and fought to a 71-71 tie with 5:06 left on the clock. 

With time running short and the game hanging in the balance, YC's three-point attack once again took center stage as Richardson hit one with 4:25 left to play and Carr hit one with 2:30 to go to give YC a 77-71 lead. Glasgow added two free throws on the next YC possession to add to the commanding lead with just over two minutes left to play. 

And while the Golden Eagles would eventually trim their deficit to three points, Glasgow and Carr knocked down six free throws combined down the stretch to put the game on ice and give YC the 87-83 victory. 

Overall, YC hit from three 14 times with Myers leading the way with four and went 17-22 from the line with Glasgow leading the way with eight makes in nine attempts. 

Glasgow also led all scorers with 25 while Richardson had 19, Myers and O'Bannon each had 12, Carr had 11 and Dupouy had eight. 

Carr also finished with 14 rebounds to take home YC's lone double-double on the night. 

Up Next
The Roughriders are back in action tomorrow (November 3) at 2 p.m. MST in Twin Falls against the No. 24-ranked Lee College Navigators.