Nic Men Earn Basketball Ranking
After a long wait, the North Idaho College men’s basketball team finally cracked the NJCAA poll on Tuesday. The Cardinals are ranked No. 15.
“You can see from what’s already taken place (in the poll) that it’s not the most scientific process,” NIC coach Rolly Williams said. “I think my kids will enjoy it and they’ve certainly earned it.”
NIC (19-2, 7-2 Scenic West Athletic Conference) travels to Utah to face Dixie (18-3, 6-3) on Friday and Snow (15-6, 5-4) on Saturday.
The Cardinals have been on the verge of being ranked since defeating College of Southern Idaho three weeks ago.
SWAC-leading Utah Valley (18-2, 8-1) is rated fourth. College of Southern Idaho (17-4, 5-4) dropped out of the rankings.
Dixie will be without reserve freshman forward Kris Jex, who was charged with misdemeanor assault after allegedly hitting the father of a Treasure Valley player following last Friday’s game in Ontario, Ore.
It was Dixie’s second postgame incident this season. Following an 88-72 loss to NIC in mid-December, the Rebels’ Eggie McRae took a swing at an NIC fan.
Jex has been suspended pending further investigation. He’s scheduled for a Feb. 6 court appearance.
NIC wrestling still No. 1
The NIC wrestling team remained ranked No. 1 in the latest NJCAA poll.
Ricks, which fell to NIC 28-9 last Saturday, slipped from fifth to eighth. Lassen College of Susanville, Calif., is second.
NIC closes its schedule by entertaining a pair of NAIA schools this week. Western Montana College visits Thursday and traditional NAIA power Simon Fraser stops by Friday. Both matches begin at 7:30 p.m.
The Cardinals travel the following weekend to Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, for the Region 18 national-qualifying tournament.
UI, WSU gain transfers
Two players from the defunct Pacific football program have transferred to Idaho and another has enrolled at Washington State.
The newest Vandals are cornerback Ryan McGinnis, who played in nine games and made 27 tackles, and wide receiver Deon Price, a redshirt at Pacific last season.
Price, who will be a junior, is 6-foot-3, 195 pounds. He made the adjustment from high school quarterback to playing wide receiver at Bakersfield (Calif.) Junior College.
McGinnis (5-10, 175), also a junior-to-be, was a sprinter and played football at Taft (Calif.) Junior College before seeing time in Pacific’s secondary last year. He originally signed at Louisiana State. He then attended two JCs in California.
WSU landed senior Bryan Chiu, a 6-2, 290-pound offensive guard who was second-team All-Big West Conference last season. Chiu was a two-year starter at Pacific. He prepped in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Magnussen update
The sentencing of Bjorn Magnussen, a reserve forward on the University of Idaho basketball team, for probation violations, has been delayed until late February.
Magnussen is no longer on the team or attending UI. His longterm status with the Vandals hasn’t been determined, Idaho coach Joe Cravens said.
, DataTimes