Dunn's play critical again as No. 15 CSI tops No. 4 SLCC

Except Dunn’s play put CSI in position to win. His teammates sealed it.

No. 15 College of Southern Idaho conquered a late nine-point deficit and stopped No. 4 Salt Lake Community College 79-71 in overtime Wednesday night at CSI Gymnasium, thanks to a 12-4 overtime run.

It marked CSI’s fourth straight win and its second top five win of the season.

Dunn, who finished with a team-high 18 points, put CSI within two with 1:40 left in the second half before his 3-pointer tied things at 65 with 1:02 remaining.

The score held, which forced overtime as CSI closed the second half on a 12-6 run in the final five minutes.

“Coach found a hole in their defense and we were able to execute it well,” Dunn told the Times-News. “Just coming off reading the defender and just being confident and trusting the work that I put in to go out there and make plays like that.”

The momentum continued as CSI jumped out to a 7-0 run in overtime and finished the game on a 12-4 run.

Tanner Hayhurst, who finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, hit five critical free throws down the stretch. Amarco Doyle, after he missed Saturday with a quad injury, dropped 14 points.

CSI still missed reserve center Brandon Oloumou, who is out until Jan. 22 with an injury, Reinert said.

“It is a big win for us,” Hayhurst told the Times-News. “We really want to protect our home court throughout conference play and so to be able to beat North Idaho on Saturday and also coming back here and beating a really good Salt Lake team.”

Walker Timme contributed 12 points and 10 points in a game where neither side’s top player was available.

CSI sophomore Isaac Hawkins missed with a broken left thumb and will be out for “over a month,” CSI head coach Jeff Reinert told the Times-News.

Hawkins still played Saturday’s game, despite breaking his thumb in the first half, Reinert said.

SLCC missed TCU-bound Xavier Edmonds because of a suspension after a Flagrant 2 foul in last week’s loss to No. 1 Snow College.

“Credit to them,” Reinert said. “I thought their guards did a hell of a job. Got downhill on us and created problems. We eventually fixed that and became more efficient. They played zone. Slowed us down a little bit and took us a while to figure it out.”

The Bruins, down 32-31 at halftime, found efficient offense and nearly stretched its second half lead to double digits. Only before its lead evaporated with active hands from the CSI defense as the Golden Eagles were plus-18 on the boards.

The Golden Eagles forced 11 turnovers but committed 18, something that Reinert said needs to be fixed as Scenic West Athletic Conference play continues.

Coen Collier powered SLCC with 16 points and 12 rebounds while Sam Sivulich dropped 13 points and Mason Bendinger finished with 10 points.

Hayhurst limited Ethan Copeland to seven points, including 1-for-12 from the field.

The SWAC onslaught continues for CSI (14-3, 2-0 SWAC) as it welcomes 14-3 Colorado Northwestern Community College at 3 p.m. Saturday.

“The best team they have had at CNCC in 20-some years,” Reinert said. “(Head coach) Ben Cruickshank has done a great job and we have our hands full. We need to play better. We can’t turn it over like we did.”