Nic Falls Short Against Poised League Opponent Fails To Put Together Timely Run And Loses To College Of Eastern Utah

So many times North Idaho College was on the verge of turning a mini-run into a full-fledged comeback.

Then came a turnover, an unkind bounce off the rim or a missed foul shot.

Underlying it all was a poised College of Eastern Utah team that hung on for a madcap 81-79 Scenic West Athletic Conference men’s basketball victory on Saturday night before an energized Christianson Gym crowd of 1,500.

“We just couldn’t put it together,” said NIC sophomore wing Eric Sanchez, who floated in three 3-pointers in the final 68 seconds to turn the largest crowd of the season into one of the loudest gatherings in years in the old brick gym.

“It was a real fun game, but it wasn’t a real fun one to lose,” he added.

Muscular guard Noel Jackson piled up 24 points - 16 in the second half - as CEU (16-3) savored a rare weekend sweep in the SWAC. NIC (17-2) dropped to 6-2. CEU is 5-2.

“We’ve never swept this trip,” said CEU coach Guy Beach, whose club downed Ricks College on Thursday. “And we’ll probably never sweep it again, so I’m going to enjoy it.”

Utah Valley vaulted past NIC into first place at 6-1 with an 85-79 home win over College of Southern Idaho on Saturday.

Down by 10 with 3 minutes to play, NIC staged a furious fight to the finish that ended when Quentin Hall missed a running jump shot from 10 feet. The final 4 seconds ran out as a scrum ensued for the rebound.

“We set up a ‘41’,” NIC coach Rolly Williams said of the play called in the timeout preceding Hall’s shot. It was designed to let guard Steve Helm drive one-on-one, but Helm couldn’t get around 6-foot-5 Ime Udoka.

Helm passed to Hall, who had to rush his shot with time dwindling.

“You couldn’t ask for a better game,” Beach said. “Two great teams, a classy crowd, it was a great environment.”

The final play was symbolic of NIC’s stagnant offense most of the second half. CEU used a matchup zone defense, somewhat similar to NIC’s 1-3-1 trap, and the Cardinals had difficulty getting good looks at the bucket.

Silky-smooth forwards Udoka (18 points and 11 assists) and Versile Shaw (22 points, seven boards) played well, but Jackson hit most of the key field goals and foul shots.

“He just took it at us one-on-one,” Williams said.

Trailing 78-76, NIC’s pressure defense forced a long lob pass that a retreating Sanchez seemed to cradle momentarily. But it slipped through his hands and Jackson went for a layup.

“I had the ball,” Sanchez said. “I don’t know what happened.”

NIC’s late charges were blunted by missed foul shots. The Cards were 9 of 19 overall and made just 2 of 7 in the second half.

NIC used Darnell McCoy’s 10 points to lead 44-41 at halftime. CEU quickly took control in the second half, moving out to a 62-49 lead with a 14-0 spurt.

Sanchez finished with 21 points and McCoy chipped in 15, but normally steady Troy Thompson was held to just eight.

“We played hard, we just didn’t play well,” Williams said.

The Cards’ Roy Kruiswyk played only a few minutes in the second half after taking an opponent’s knee to the back of his calf.

Eastern Utah 81, NIC 79

Eastern Utah (16-3, 5-2) - Newton 4-8 0-0 8, Nielson 0-1 0-2 0, Berry 0 0-0 0, Miller 0 2-2 2, Johnson 2-4 0-0 5, Udoka 7-11 1-1 18, Jackson 8-14 8-12 24, Shaw 10-17 2-4 22, Taylor 1-5 0-0 2. 32-61 13-19 81.

North Idaho (17-2, 6-2) - Hall 2-4 3-4 7, Helm 1-4 2-5 5, Thompson 3-13 1-3 8, Rapier 2-3 0-2 4, McCoy 6-12, 0-0 15, Byrne 2-4 1-3 5, Robertson 0-2 2-2 2, Kruiswyk 5-11 0-0 10, Sanchez 9-11 0-0 21. 31-67 9-19 79.

Halftime - NIC 44, CEU 41. 3-point goals - CEU 4-7 (Nielson 0-1, Johnson 1-2, Udoka 3-4), NIC 8-19 (Hall 0-1, Helm 1-4, Cunningham 0-1, Thompson 1-3, McCoy 3-5, Sanchez 3-5. Fouled out - none. Technical fouls - none. Rebounds - CEU 31 (Shaw 7), NIC 40 (Sanchez and Kruiswyk each 6). Assists - CEU 24 (Udoka 11), NIC 24 (Helm 6). Total fouls - CEU 18, NIC 18.

, DataTimes