Cards face double dose of Golden Eagles

For some fans in this area, the North Idaho College-College of Southern Idaho men’s basketball game is the only Cardinals’ game they attend annually.

They might want to double up this year.

The better matchup, on paper, appears to be the resurgent NIC women vs. No. 2-ranked CSI. The Cardinals (8-4, 1-1 Scenic West Athletic Conference) have already surpassed last season’s win total and three of their losses have come against Top 20 teams, all by reasonably close margins at road or neutral sites. CSI (14-0, 2-0), the defending Region 18 champion, is winning by an average of 34.4 points.

“We’ve got nothing to lose, we’re on our home floor and we’ve been playing well,” first-year NIC coach Chris Carlson said. “I think it’s good timing.”

Tipoff is at 5:30 tonight at Christianson Gym, followed by the fourth-ranked CSI men (10-0, 2-0) taking on NIC (9-4, 1-1).

Men

CSI’s closest game was a 12-point win at traditionally tough Snow last week. Only two games have been closer than 27 points. The Golden Eagles lead the nation in scoring (101.2) and have a plus-11 assist-to-turnover ratio. They average 17.8 steals and 9.2 blocks per game.

Second-year coach Gib Arnold recruited every player on the roster and the assimilation into his system is obvious.

“We’re able to play a style we want to play – a little more up-tempo and pressuring and getting after it a little defensively,” he said.

It starts with sophomore point guard Jamaal Brown, who played at Utah Valley two years ago and signed with Oklahoma State before arriving at CSI. Brown is averaging 18.4 points, 8.8 assists and shoots 53.3 percent from the field. Mohamed Kone, a 6-foot-11 center from France, averages 14.1 points and 8.6 rebounds. Various magazines have listed Brown and Kone among the nation’s top JC players at their positions.

Dani Hazut, Shaun Davis, Nick Hansen and Brown are capable 3-point shooters.

But CSI’s offense is fed by its defense.

“We can really guard it,” Arnold said.

NIC was thumped by Salt Lake and defeated perennial doormat Colorado Northwestern last week. CC Spokane handled the Cardinals earlier this week.

On matching up with CSI, NIC coach Jared Phay said, “It depends on which one of our teams shows up. If we come out confident and go at them, I think we match up fine. The last few years, we’ve always been undersized against them, but now we have more size.”

Women

The Golden Eagles have a handful of weapons and unrivaled size. Sophomores Lenka Zimova (6-6) and Denisa Svarova (6-5) combine to average 22 points and 12.5 rebounds. The duo has blocked 39 shots.

Guard Sidney Orndorff, a 42 percent 3-point shooter, is probably CSI’s top player, but the team balance is impressive. Nine players average double-digit minutes and range in scoring from 5.1 to Orndorff’s 12. Megan Kane, a sophomore guard from Post Falls, has started 11 games and is averaging 5.1 points.

“We don’t play (Zimova and Svarova) that much,” coach Randy Rogers said. “They’re not dominating teams like I think they should and other teams probably think they are. But they are a problem for other teams to match up.”

NIC’s tallest players are 6-footers Megan McIntrye and Ahlee Thomas. CSI’s defense limits opponents to 30.3 percent shooting.

“We have a lot of girls that can score, we have some speed and we’ve taken care of the ball,” Carlson said.