It ranks as one of the best and worst displays of men’s junior college basketball displayed in Christianson Gym.

Unfortunately for North Idaho College, it was on the ugly end of the outcome that seemingly never would end.

Dixie College showed why it’s favored to win the Scenic West Athletic Conference. The Rebels showed their cause in fine fashion in a 122-78 behind-the-shed spanking of the Cardinals.

NIC coach Hugh Watson sat by himself in the college’s booster club room frustrated to the point of talking to himself afterward.

“It’s embarrassing, it’s embarrassing,” Watson muttered afterward. “That’s the worst shellacking I’ve ever had in my life, in my 30-some years of coaching. I’m at the point I don’t know what to do.”

Perhaps out of appreciation for the high-powered level of play by the Rebels, most of the crowd estimated at 1,300 remained to the end.

Five minutes into the game, NIC led 17-12 and appeared as if it would bounce back from an 86-74 loss to Snow on Thursday.

Less than six minutes later, Dixie sprinted to a 35-19 lead. A slam dunk by Anthony Dent capped a 23-2 blitz.

Dixie’s full-court pressure accounted for most of its 23 steals and the offense turned NIC’s mistakes into rapid-fire points.

The Rebels (17-1 overall, 5-1 in conference), coming off their first loss Thursday at Ricks College, had the victory pretty much in hand by intermission, leading 58-32.

The question posed by those at the scorer’s table was would Dixie reach 100 points before NIC scored 50.

A basket by Casey Fisher lifted NIC to 50 points. Problem was, Dixie was sitting at 89.

The Rebels came close to scoring 100 points by the 10-minute mark of the second half. Rudy Williams completed a three-point play to extend Dixie’s lead to 94-50 with 10:01 remaining.

NIC briefly staved off the inevitable. A 10-0 spurt by the Cards made it 97-60. But a 3-pointer by Khalid Coursey put the Rebels into triple digits at 100-60 with 7:35 left.

The Cards were more competitive the final seven minutes, during which Dixie outscored them 22-18.

The best may be yet to come from the Rebels. When they return home they’re expected to welcome an NCAA Division I transfer from New Mexico who is better than the current Dixie players, Watson said.

“They just toyed with us,” Watson said.

Watson’s concerned how his team will react to the back-to-back losses.

“We might not win another game,” he said.

Seven Dixie players scored in double figures and another fell just a point short. Frederick House and Jason Stilson tied for team honors with 18 points, Eric Holmes had 17 and Williams and Demarlo Slocum had 15 each. The Rebels finished with 34 assists (seven each from Coursey and Holmes).

NIC committed 33 turnovers. JoVann Johnson led the Cards with 18 points.

Car given away

Assistant NIC men’s coach Koko Davis was given a car at halftime.

Davis, a Coeur d’Alene High grad, was in eighth grade with a promising athletic future when he was paralyzed playing football in his house with some friends. He dove over a couch and landed on his neck.

Davis, 22, is able to drive a car that’s mechanically structured for his handicap. He recently wrecked his car.

So NIC booster club president Calvin DeHaas asked fans attending the NIC-Ricks game in December and area businesses to donate toward the purchase of a new car for Davis.

Fans surprised Davis with the gift during the halftime ceremony.

Dixie College 122, North Idaho 78

Dixie (17-1, 5-1) - Holmes 5-7 4-6 17, Dent 5-9 0-1 10, Slocum 6-12 0-0 15, Coursey 3-4 2-2 9, House 7-11 2-2 18, Leavitt 3-7 0-0 7, Allred 1-1 0-1 2, Stilson 6-9 4-4 18, R. Williams 6-12 3-3 15, S. Williams 5-10 1-4 11. Totals 47-82 16-23 122.

North Idaho (10-5, 1-4) - Johnson 5-9 8-10 18, Bailey 3-12 3-5 9, Goodman 2-10 1-2 6, Brosseau 2-4 0-0 4, Houston 4-5 1-2 9, Clay 1-2 2-2 4, Watson 0-3 2-3 2, Fisher 3-5 2-4 8, Al-Arorey 4-5 3-6 11, Ryan 2-5 3-6 7. Totals 26-60 25-40 78.

Halftime - Dixie 58, NIC 32. 3-point shooting - D 12-21 (Holmes 3-5, Dent 0-1, Slocum 3-6, Coursey 1-1, House 2-2, Leavitt 1-3, Stilson 2-3); NIC 1-12 (Bailey 0-1, Goodman 1-7, Clay 0-1, Watson 0-2, Ryan 0-1). Fouled out - D, Holmes, R. Williams. Rebounds - D 32 (S. Williams 6), NIC 39 (Fisher 9). Assists - D 34 (Holmes, Coursey 7), NIC 13 (Bailey 6). Total fouls - D 30, NIC 16. Technicals - D, S. Williams. Att - 1,300 (est.).

, DataTimes