NIC women win, men upset

The near two-week break between games, the frigid shooting, the rebounding problems and the fouls.

And most of all, the Dixie State Rebels.

No. 2-seeded North Idaho College had a long list of problems Friday, all magnified by the crisp execution of the third-seeded Rebels, who upset the Cardinals 84-66 in the Region 18 men’s basketball tournament semifinals in front of 1,300 at Christianson Gym.

“We never got in a groove,” said NIC coach Jared Phay, whose team hadn’t played in 13 days. “To Dixie’s credit they just outworked us, they outrebounded us, they outguarded us. They just kicked our butt.”

NIC finished 23-8. Dixie (21-11), which will leave the NJCAA for NCAA Division II next season, will take on 20th-ranked and top-seeded College of Southern Idaho tonight at 7:30 in the championship game. CSI (23-8) downed No. 4 Eastern Utah 103-92 in the other semifinal.

Dixie took control midway through the first half, breaking from a 20-20 tie with an 11-3 run. NIC’s offense went dry as it settled for perimeter jumpers that rarely found the mark. The Cardinals only had three field goals in the final 9 minutes and went into halftime trailing 34-27.

“We didn’t even look like we were running anything,” Cardinals sophomore forward Darin Nagle said. “We just waited for somebody to shoot the ball and they’d get the rebound.”

Nagle, who averages 13.4 points per game, scored seven in the first 6 minutes, but was held to one point the rest of the way. NIC made just 3 of 14 3-pointers, failed to get the ball inside and lost the rebounding battle by 15 in the first half.

“What I was most happy with was our defense,” said Dixie coach Jon Judkins, whose only complaint was his team’s 17-of-30 effort at the free-throw line. “We got them confused and they didn’t know what to run and they started to go one-on-one a lot. When teams go one-on-one and they’re not hitting shots, you’ve got a pretty good chance to beat them.

“And we did a great job on the glass. We told our guys (to allow) one shot only and make sure you block out.”

It only got worse for NIC in the second half. Bayo Arigbon scored two interior buckets to narrow Dixie’s lead to 41-39, but the Rebels’ Travis Bunker delivered a 3-pointer that launched a 15-3 spurt for a 56-42 advantage.

During that telling stretch, Dixie scored on spot-up 3-pointers, drives from the wing and in transition.

NIC trailed by double digits the rest of the way.

“We could have been looking past them a little bit, but we still had a lot of respect for them,” said Phay, whose team was hoping for a fourth meeting with rival CSI. “They just straight-up outplayed us.

“They ran their offense a lot better than we ran ours. They just beat us in every facet of the game.”

Five Rebels reached double figures, led by burly forward Moleni Taukiuvea, who had 21 points. NIC’s Frank Clair scored 21 points, but Mac Hopson was the only other Cardinal in double figures with 11.

Southern Idaho 103, Eastern Utah 92: The Golden Eagles often put on a dazzling display, but had enough lulls, not to mention three second-half technical fouls, to leave this one in doubt late into the game. Leading 84-79 with 5:13 left, CSI made 13 of 15 free throws to secure the win.

Forward Travis Gabbidon, with perhaps 15 college scouts watching from the bleachers, poured in 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Reggie Larry had 27 points and nine rebounds and Zarryon Fereti chipped in 16 points.

CSI, which lost four of its last six games, shot 51.5 percent, 42 percent on 3-pointers, and had 11 turnovers. Starters Gabbidon, Fereti and point guard Jermaine Calvin, returning from a broken hand, all logged 37 minutes.

“The guys responded very well” after losing two games last weekend, CSI coach Barret Peery said. “We’ve missed our point guard so much. It’s no secret that we’re a better team with (Calvin).”

CSI looked unstoppable while building a 32-17 lead. Eastern Utah (19-12) fought back within six at half, but fell behind 57-39 early in the second half. CEU rallied again, behind by forward Tate Hancock, who finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds, and Tyler Kepkay, who scored 24 points.