Nic Works Over Walla Walla, 110-83 Looks To Friday’s Showdown At College Of Southern Idaho

North Idaho College was leading Walla Walla by 23 points at halftime and NIC men’s basketball coach Rolly Williams was exercising his constitutional right of freedom of speech.

“He was saying that we weren’t doing a good job defensively, which we weren’t,” sophomore guard Steve Helm said. “So he got on us.”

In turn, NIC got on Walla Walla, boosting defensive pressure in the final half of a 110-83 non-conference win on Tuesday night at Christianson Gym.

“There’s a way of winning a basketball game, ways you go about doing it,” said Williams, generally pleased with NIC’s execution after a three-week layoff, but mildly perturbed by a few defensive lapses.

“At the end, some guys go in and say, ‘Boy, I’m gonna score,”’ Williams said. “If you ever want to play again, you better play some defense and run. I want to see if you can play basketball.”

Tuesday’s outcome was never in serious doubt, so Williams paid more attention to the bigger picture. That would be NIC’s visit to Twin Falls on Friday for a showdown with rival College of Southern Idaho (13-1), which is ranked No. 2 nationally.

“With the layoff, you can see we’re a little out of sync,” said Williams, whose club improved to 14-1.

Helm had 14 points, five assists and put a stop to a brief stretch of offensive stagnation with a couple of driving layups in the first half.

The Cardinals built the bulk of their 23-point lead when Walla Walla’s Jeremy Eaton was on the bench with a couple of fouls. Eaton, a 6-foot-10 center, showed nice post moves and a soft shooting touch, but he spent much of the evening on the bench in foul trouble.

Eaton, who has signed with Gonzaga, finished with 17 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots. But NIC pivot Roy Kruiswyk was every bit as effective with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting and he grabbed seven boards. Gabriel Rapier spelled Kruiswyk and added 11 points.

Forward Troy Thompson led NIC with 26 points and had 13 rebounds.

“They’re just a lot better than us,” said Walla Walla coach Jeff Reinland, an animated sort who hollered instructions from tip to final buzzer. “For about 10 minutes there, we were hanging in there.”

That’s when Helm and Kruiswyk led a 5-minute charge that turned a 35-28 lead into a 61-38 bulge at intermission.

The Warriors (9-7) trimmed NIC’s lead to 17 in the second half, but the Cardinals pulled away as Thompson piled up 15 second-half points.

“They’ve got guys with quickness and athletic ability and then they come in with guys that may not be as quick, but they’re strong and can post up,” Reinland said.

NIC’s post-game attention quickly turned to Southern Idaho.

“That’s a very big game for us,” Helm said. “I think guys are going to step up.”

NIC 110, Walla Walla 83

WALLA WALLA Hilty-Jones 0-4 0-0 0, Goll 3-3 0-0 7, Hight 0-0 0-0 0, Goldsmith 2-8 0-0 4, Tiego 5-11 5-13 15, Davis 6-13 0-0 17, Cherf 5-6 2-3 12, Miller 4-10 0-0 11, Eaton 7-14 3-4 17, Thacker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-69 10-20 50.

NORTH IDAHO Hall 4-6 3-6 12, Dial 1-4 0-0 2, Schultz 0-1 0-0 0, Helm 6-10 2-3 14, Cunningham 1-1 0-0 3, Stack 0-0 0-0 0, Thompson 10-24 6-10 26, Allen 2-3 0-0 4, Rapier 5-9 1-3 11, McCoy 3-4 1-2 8, Barth 0-2 0-1 0, Robertson 2-6 2-2 6, Kruiswyk 6-9 6-6 18, Sanchez 2-5 1-1 6. Totals 42-84 22-34 110.

Half-NIC 61-38. 3-point goals-Walla Walla 9-24 (Davis 5-9, Miller 3-9, Goll 1-1, Goldsmith 0-3, Hilty-Jones 0-2), NIC 4-13 (Sanchez 1-2, Hall 1-2, Cunningham 1-1, McCoy 1-2, Dial 0-1, Helm 0-1, Thompson 0-3, Robertson 0-1). Fouled out-Tiego, Eaton. Rebounds-Walla Walla 28 (Tiego 8), NIC 47 (Thompson 13). Assists-Walla Walla 23 (Miller 5), NIC 28 (Helm, Sanchez each had 5). Total fouls-Walla Walla 23, NIC 16.

, DataTimes