Up-Tempo Cards Cut Short Nic’s High-Scoring Offense Isn’t Enough In Battle For Third Place

REPLAY: 3-24-97 North Idaho College men’s basketball player Leonard Myles was misidentified in a photo caption on page C1 of Sunday’s Idaho edition. Also, NIC’s final record is 30-6.

North Idaho College, which made an impressive run in the NJCAA Tournament, made what seemed like a million more runs on Saturday.

So did Tallahassee.

In a basketball game that should have featured baton handoffs and eight lanes, NIC lost a sprint it appeared to have won, 121-116 in overtime, to equally athletic Tallahassee in front of 5,500 witnesses at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

“That’s the fastest game I’ve ever played in my life,” said NIC guard Shawn Myrick, who scored 28 points but was kicking himself for missing two free throws late in regulation. “I’ve got no legs at all. Sometimes I couldn’t feel myself running.”

NIC finished 30-5 and took fourth, the highest placing in school history. Third-ranked Tallahassee (35-2) finished third. No. 5 Indian Hills (38-1) of Ottumwa, Iowa, defeated No. 2 San Jacinto (36-1) of Pasadena, Texas, 89-80 to claim its first championship.

NIC and Tallahassee were looking for oxygen after combining for 237 points to easily break the previous tourney high of 227 set in 1977.

The teams left the court to a rousing ovation, with perhaps half the crowd on their feet.

“It reminded me of playing ball in the park,” NIC forward Chris Harrison said. “Up and down, I loved it.”

Everything except the outcome.

It was this kind of game: Tallahassee made 62 percent on 2-pointers, 67 percent on 3-pointers and 80 percent on free throws and trailed by a point at halftime.

Each team lost leads in the second half. NIC trailed 100-96 with 3:15 left in regulation after the Eagles’ Mike DeGruy connected on consecutive 3-pointers.

The Cardinals reclaimed the lead at 102-100 on Myrick’s 3-pointer, and two Harrison free throws made it 104-102. Myrick had a chance to end the suspense but missed two foul shots with 16.4 seconds left.

“I’d do anything to take those two over,” said Myrick, who won the scoring title with a four-game accumulation of 115. Tallahassee’s Marvis Thornton, who scored 32 points, was second at 109.

“The first one I knew was off, but the second one I knew was through and it slipped off,” Myrick said.

Tallahassee’s Tyrone Triplett hit an off-balance 17-footer, with NIC’s Todd Myles in proper defensive position, to even the score with 3.7 seconds left.

NIC had the lead four times in overtime, the last at 116-115. Thornton, bound for Virginia Commonwealth, then hit a can-you-top-this 8-footer on the baseline as Tallahassee scored the final six points.

The Cards had a chance to tie with a 3-pointer, but Leonard Myles’ pass was intercepted, leading to Tallahassee’s last field goal.

“It’s mind-boggling Shawn would miss two free throws,” NIC coach Hugh Watson said. “And what’s frustrating is on the last play we set up a play and didn’t execute it.”

The teams managed a frantic pace despite being exhausted. NIC was playing its fourth game in four days, Tallahassee played four in five days.

Both teams relied heavily on their benches as NIC’s Steve Ryan, Bo Johnson, Travis Houston and Leonard Myles combined for 34 points.

“We had to play the No. 2 (San Jacinto), No. 3 (Tallahassee) and No. 4 (Champlain) ranked teams in the country,” Watson said. Those three teams were a combined 100-2 when they played NIC.

“I think our kids represented us well,” Watson added. “When we look back and consider that we made the Final Four after being picked fifth in our conference, it’s quite an accomplishment. Winning 30 games is beyond my wildest imagination.”

Tallahassee 121, NIC 116 (OT)

North Idaho (30-5) - Myrick 11-22 3-6 28, McKanstry 7-16 5-5 19, Harrison 5-9 4-4 17, Banks 5-10 2-4 12, Ryan 2-2 5-6 9, L. Myles 2-6 5-6 9, Johnson 4-7 0-0 8, T. Myles 3-6 1-2 7, Houston 2-3 3-5 7. Totals 41-81 28-38 116.

Tallahassee (35-2) - Thornton 13-22 3-3 32, DeGruy 8-19 5-6 28, McPherson 7-11 9-13 23, Triplett 4-9 2-2 11, Harris 5-7 1-4 11, Bruno 2-2 2-3 6, Dixon 3- 3 0-1 6, Smith 2-5 0-0 4, Wilkins 0-1 0-0 0, Porrato 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 44-81 22-32 121.

Halftime - NIC 51, Tallahassee 50. Regulation - Tied at 104. 3-point goals - NC 6-16 (Harrison 3-4, Myrick 3-9, McKanstry 0-1, Banks 0-2), Tallahassee 11-22 (DeGruy 7-13, Thornton 3-5, Triplett 1-3, McPherson 0-1. Total fouls - NIC 23, Tallahassee 26. Fouled out - Smith, Wilkins. Technical fouls - none. Rebounds - NIC 48 (Harrison 9), Tallahassee 49 (Harris 15). Assists - NIC 23 (T. Myles 10), Tallahassee 22 (Thornton 7). Att. - 5,500 (est.).

Friday’s semifinal

San Jacinto 112, North Idaho 103

North Idaho (30-5) - Myrick 12-27 9-10 39, T. Myles 8-9 2-4 18, Harrison 2- 15 10-13 16, McKanstry 4-14 2-3 10, Johnson 3-7 2-2 8, Banks 3-6 0-0 6, Houston 1-3 0- 0 2, L. Myles 1-7 0-0 2, Ryan 0-0 2-3 2, Rahming 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-89 27-35 103.

San Jacinto (36-0) - Sneed 8-15 8-11 25, Clay 7-16 5-6 24, Francis 6-8 9-10 21, Bowman 7-10 3-4 17, Scales 5-10 2-2 12, De La Cruz 1-4 3-5 5, Anderson 1-2 1-2 3, Pardue 1-4 1-2 3, West 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 37-71 32-42 112.

Halftime - NIC 46, San Jacinto 44. 3-point goals - NIC 8-28 (Myrick 6-13, Harrison 2-10, T. Myles 0-1, McKanstry 0-3, Banks 0-1), San Jacinto 6-23 (Clay 5-12, Sneed 1-3, Francis 0-2, Scales 0-4, De La Cruz 0-1, Anderson 0-1). Total fouls - NIC 32, San Jacinto 24. Fouled out - Myrick, Johnson, Banks, L. Myles. Technical fouls - L. Myles. Rebounds - NIC 55 (Harrison 8), San Jacinto 52 (Sneed 10). Assists - NIC 5 (T. Myles 3), San Jacinto 23 (Sneed 7). Att. - 5,000 (est.). , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo