Nic’S Upset Does Anything But Silence Snow

Talk is cheap.

Unless, of course, it works.

North Idaho College held a heart-to-heart team meeting on Friday. On Saturday, the Cardinals men’s basketball team thundered Snow College 111-80 at Christianson Gym.

Snow, which came in leading the Scenic West Athletic Conference and ranked No. 6 in the NJCAA, was left talking to itself, NIC’s heckling fans and the officials. The Badgers were whistled for a technical in garbage time and were clearly frustrated.

“Coach (Hugh) Watson called it (the team meeting),” said guard Jerry Petty, who handed out nine assists to go with his 12 points. “If you’d seen us earlier in the season, how hard we played and we weren’t bickering as a team, we did that again today.”

“Coach just told us he was going to let us play, to have fun, and mainly just box out because that’s what’s been killing us lately. That’s all we did.”

That, and knock down most shots that came their way. NIC hit 57 percent for the game - a tidy 55.6 percent in the first half and a crisp 58.6 percent in the second half.

The Cardinals (9-12 overall, 4-9 SWAC) led 24-11 just 6 minutes into the first half. Johnny Goodman, who finished with 26 points, struck for three quick 3-pointers and center Jason Keep came off the bench for a couple of interior buckets.

NIC’s point parade continued with Dan Franklin and Goodman hitting consecutive 3s and Petty swiped the ball and went in for a dunk. That gave NIC a 48-27 lead over an opponent with a 23-1 record entering the game.

“NIC played great,” Snow coach Jon Judkins said. “We came in today and we’re first and they’re eighth and we thought all we had to do was show up. They wanted it. You could see it in their eyes.”

Watson emerged from halftime regretting that an intermission was necessary. He’d rather have just continued playing.

But the Cardinals stayed hot and the lead swelled to 79-48 on Goodman’s 3-pointer. The only question was whether NIC would hit the 100-point mark. The answer came on Nick Booms’ free throw with 1:40 remaining.

“We had a long talk. I said, `We haven’t done a lot since (an early season win over) Vincennes,”’ Watson said. “I told them, `There isn’t going to be any negative stuff from the bench. You just go out and bust your tails for me.’

“I was real proud of ‘em. When you play hard, you shoot better. We shot the dang lights out and they played good together.”

It’s possible NIC and Snow could meet in the first round of the Region 18 Tournament.

For that reason, Watson told his troops to behave, even as the score reached lopsided proportions.

“They’re going to be gunning for us,” Watson said.

A rematch, though, might be to NIC’s liking. The Cardinals, who still have some work left to qualify for the tournament, regained some lost confidence.

North Idaho College 111, Snow College 80

Snow College - Russell 1-5 1-3 3, Montgomery 5-11 0-1 10, Whiting 4-11 1-2 12, Brown 4-6 0-2 8, Tracy 8-14 2-4 18, Rhoads 1-5 0-0 3, Ingersoll 4-8 0-0 10, Jex 2-4 4-4 9, Asay 0-1 1-1 1, Kaufusi 2-3 0-0 4, Bentley 0-2 0-0 0, Standiford 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 32-72 9-17 80. North Idaho (x-x, x-x) - Zimmerman 1-2 6-7 9, Cheeley 1-2 4-7 6, Goodman 9-14 2-2 26, Franklin 3-9 2-2 10, Battee 5-8 1-2 12, Hansen 4-4 2-2 10, Petty 4-11 3-4 12, Fisher 5-6 2-2 12, Keep 3-7 2-2 8, Booms 2-2 2-4 6. Totals 37-65 26-34 111.

Halftime - North Idaho 50, Snow 32. 3-point goals - Snow 7-26 (Russell 0-3, Montgomery 0-3, Whiting 3-10, Rhoads 1-4, Ingersoll 2-2, Jex 1-2, Asay 0-1, Bentley 0-1). North Idaho 11-30 (Goodman 6-10, Franklin 2-7, Battee 1-4, Petty 1-6, Zimmerman 1-2, Cheeley 0-1). Fouled out - Ingersoll, Asay. Rebounds - Snow 34 (Russell 9), North Idaho 32 (Battee 7). Assists - Snow 13 (Montgomery 4), North Idaho 29 (Petty 9). Total fouls - Snow 25, North Idaho 17. Technicals - None. A - 750.