Talented Nic Has Little Trouble In Season Opener

One of the rules of basketball seems to be inherently unfair to North Idaho College - the one that only allows five on the court at a time.

If nothing else, NIC showed it has a cupboard bulging with talent as the Cardinals’ men’s team opened their season on Saturday night with a 103-56 cakewalk over out-manned Southern Alberta at Christianson Gym.

Thirteen Cards played and most put in convincing arguments as to why they should be somewhere in coach Rolly Williams’ rotation.

“It might be more of a problem on other teams, but I’m hoping this club has enough character to be able to deal with some of the problems that are going to exist because of the number of good players we have,” Williams said.

“We didn’t lose anything when we rolled over (backup players).”

More often, NIC gained. The score was still semiclose at 18-10 when lightning quick reserve point guard Quentin Hall entered and broke all speed limits. Hall tortured Southern Alberta into numerous turnovers as the Cardinals’ lead swelled to 40-21.

It was NIC 49-28 at half and 73-34 midway through the second half.

Hall finished with nine steals and seven assists in roughly 25 minutes. He also showed he’s part entertainer as he occasionally went into a high-step before hitting top speed.

“The (attendance) has been down, we gotta get the crowd into it,” Williams mused.

Also from the bench: Hard-working forward Gabriel Rapier totaled 12 points and five boards, center Kevin Byrne grabbed 10 rebounds, Tijuan Dial, who played only 7 minutes, had 12 points and three rebounds, and Darnell McCoy had 11 points and seven boards.

None of this is to suggest that NIC’s starters were slackers. Sophomore transfer Ajene Robertson had four first-half dunks and led all scorers with 18 points. Troy Thompson added 12 points. Most of the first-teamers played 20-25 minutes or less.

Southern Alberta, which dropped to 3-5, played against NIC-rival Ricks on Thursday night and lost by a lopsided score.

“At this stage, Ricks isn’t of the same caliber as NIC,” Trojans coach Phil Allen said. “We didn’t give Ricks much of a game either, but NIC is ahead of Ricks right now.”

Allen said his team was intimidated by NIC and then he invented a new phrase to prove it. “We were scared pitless.”

NIC seems to have more quickness than last year’s team, which was a main reason why its trapping defense was particularly effective. The Cards should get a stiffer test when an Australian team, the Townsville Suns, visit Coeur d’Alene next Saturday.

North Idaho 103, Southern Alberta 56

SOUTHERN ALBERTA (56)

Ozcan 3-4 1-1 9, Salter 3-8 2-2 8, Manahan 1-4 1-2 4, Yellowhorn 1-7 4-6 6, Robertson 2-5 3-5 7, Jobb 0-6 2-2 2, John 0-1 0-0 0, Barahan 0-0 1-2 1, Somerset 3-4 2-2 8, Knoppers 3-8 3-4 9, Koorbatoff 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 16-48 21-28 56.

NORTH IDAHO COLLEGE (103)

Hall 3-6 2-2 9, Dial 5-10 0-0 12, Helm 1-2 0-0 2, Cunningham 1-1 0-0 3, Stack 1-2 0-0 3, Thompson 5-18 2-2 12, Allen 2-4 0-0 5, Rapier 2-4 8-10 12, McCoy 5-13 1-2 11, Byrne 3-6 1-2 7, Barth 0-2 0-0 0, Robertson 9-18 0-0 18. Totals 39-94 19-26 103.

Halftime score - NIC 49, SA 28. 3-point goals - SA 3-17 (Ozcan 2-3, Salter 0-3, Manahan 1-2, Yellowhorn 0-3, Robertson 0-1, Jopp 0-4, Somerset 0-1), NIC 6-18 (Hall 1-1, Dial 2-4, Helm 0-1, Cunningham 1-1, Stack 1-1, Allen 1-2, McCoy 0-5, Barth 0-1, Robertson 0-1). Total fouls - SA 20, NIC 22. Fouled out - Koorbatoff. Rebounds - SA 52 (Byrne 10), NIC 37 (Somerset 7). Assists - SA 14 (Yellowhorn 7), NIC 26 (Hall 7).

, DataTimes