Second Half Produces Nic Victory

It took a while for the North Idaho College mens’ basketball team to shake off the rust brought on by its recent twoweek holiday break.

But thanks to a 25-4 run spanning 8 minutes of the second half, the Cardinals were able to overcome a lackluster start and post an 81-55 non-conference victory over the Community Colleges of Spokane Tuesday night at Christianson Gym.

Both teams obviously were still in the holiday spirit and in the mood for giving at the outset.

The Cardinals couldn’t seem to get in sync in the first half, turning over the ball 15 times - sometimes in bunches - to help the Sasquatch stay close.

And while CCS was graciously accepting those turnovers, it returned the favor in the form of 32 percent shooting in the first half and was unable to capitalize despite holding a decided advantage on the boards.

And that kept the Cardinals in the game long enough to get their legs back. And after four lead changes to start the second half, the Cardinals caught fire.

Behind the scoring of sophomore guard Eddie Turner, who was quiet most of the first half, and the inside play of freshman post Roy Kruiswyk, the Cardinals turned a 39-37 deficit into a 64-43 lead and the rout was on.

Turner, who had just seven firsthalf points, finished with 18, eight coming during NIC’s run.

Kruiswyk followed with 15 points and along with freshman Troy Thompson, led the Cardinals with eight rebounds.

That helped the Cardinals to a 40-35 advantage in rebounding for the game.

The win raises NIC’s record to 9-7 and served as a final tuneup for Region 18 play that begins Friday when the Cardinals travel to Colorado Northwestern. CCS drops to 3-9.

The win by the Cardinals avenges an earlier loss to the Sasquatch in Spokane and the difference in this game, according to NIC coach Rolly Williams, was the second half.

“I was pleased with the second half of the game,” he said. “I thought our kids did a pretty good job of taking the boards away from them. We played hard in the first half but we just had too many mental lapses.

“About 10 minutes into the game, we just didn’t look like our focus was there.”

CCS coach Sam Brasch agreed.

“They (NIC) really picked it up intensity-wise on defense in the second half,” he said. “They played a lot harder tonight than they did in Spokane and in the second half it was as plain as day. They obviously have better athletes and they started playing hard and that was the difference.”

For CCS, freshmen Jed Palmer and Kris Hampton shared scoring honors with 12 each.

North Idaho 81, CC Spokane 55

SPOKANE (3-9)

Mires 2-4 1-2 6, Schug 1-4 0-0 2, Kelsey 1-4 2-3 4, Guerra 0-7 0-0 0, Palmer 3-5 6-8 12, Ferrante 1-4 1-2 3, Goldsmith 1-3 4-4 6, Smith 3-16 1-2 7, Morgan 1-3 1-1 3, Hampton 6-10 0-0 12. Totals 19-60 16-22 55.

NIC (9-7)

Dial 2-5 0-0 5, Helm 1-6 3-3 5, Snook 0-3 0-0 0, Thompson 4-11 5-7 14, Turner 7-14 1-2 18, Russinov 0-1 1-2 1, Sanchez 0-1 0-0 0, Walker 5-6 4-5 15, Palumbis 2-2 4-5 8, Kruiswyk 6-9 3-5 15. Totals 27-58 21-29 81.

Halftime-NIC 33, CCS 32. 3-point goals-CCS 1-7 (Mires 1-2, Kelsey 0-2, Palmer 0-1, Smith 0-2). NIC 6-15 (Turner 3-4, Dial 1-3, Helm 0-2, Snook 0-1, Thompson 1-3, Walker 1-2). Total Fouls- CCS 22, NIC 23. Fouled out-None. Technicals-Snook, Walker. Rebounds-CCS 35 (Palmer 11). NIC 40 (Kruiswyk 8, Thompson 8). Assists-CCS 11 (Guerra 5). NIC 20 (Snook 6). Att.-200.