Nic, Ccs Collect Big Victories Cardinals Win Their Tournament; Sasquatch Capture First Win
The fight lasted roughly 30 seconds, which is about how long the basketball game was in doubt after the bout.
North Idaho College didn’t back down from a scrappy Palomar squad - heavy on the scrappy - cuffing the Comets 113-67 on Saturday night in the championship game of NIC’s Thanksgiving Classic at Christianson Gym. Community Colleges of Spokane edged Grant MacEwan 72-65 in the consolation game.
CCS 72, Grant MacEwan 65
The Sasquatch’s first win wasn’t achieved easily, but it was rewarding. Spokane fiddled with blowing out the Griffins, but couldn’t deliver the knockout.
Spokane (1-3) led by seven at half and by seven, 65-58, with 5 minutes left. The Griffins (7-5) rallied within 65-63 before freshman forward Kurt Long grabbed the first of two key offensive rebounds. Long converted two free throws, Jason Smith added a three-point play and Bob Strahl’s two free throws closed out the visiting Canadian club.
“It was good to win the way we did,” Spokane coach Sam Brasch said. “They came back on us and we did a nice job when we needed to.”
Kasey Ahrens and John Mammenga each scored 14 for Spokane. Rob DeBeaumont added 12 points and eight boards, the same rebounding total as Long. Grant MacEwan’s Pat Sasseville had team highs with 16 points and nine rebounds.
NIC 72, Palomar 65
The main event actually had an undercard.
The fight was a bit of a mismatch as wiry NIC guard Andre McKanstry tangled with Palomar’s sturdily built Tommie Blanks, a 6-foot-6 forward.
Depending on whom you believe, McKanstry either initiated the fight with an elbow or was merely an innocent victim. Clearly, McKanstry tried to stay away from the flailing Blanks after the brawl began. Blanks seemed to be contained by several teammates, but twice broke free and tossed some more punches at McKanstry.
Both were ejected for fighting. By rule, both will miss their next game and that’s especially costly for NIC. The Cards (6-0) entertain nationally ranked Utah Valley on Thursday to open the Scenic West Athletic Conference season - without McKanstry, their best defensive player.
McKanstry had just made a layup and “as I went up he (Blanks) pushed me out of bounds,” McKanstry said. “I came back and tried to guard him and he threw an elbow. I tried to avoid all of it.”
The game was also a mismatch as NIC rolled. The Cards led 9-7 when the punches started flying. Soon thereafter, NIC led 30-12 and 39-14. Shawn Myrick paced NIC with 25 points.
, DataTimes