NIC ready for another battle with CSI
COEUR d'ALENE - As rivalries go, this is the biggest one on the schedule for the North Idaho College men's and women's basketball teams.
NIC welcomes Scenic West Athletic Conference rival Southern Idaho onto Rolly Williams Court tonight starting with the women's game at 5:30, to be followed by the men at 7:30.
Tonight marks the only time that CSI visits Coeur d'Alene this season, with the Cardinals making three trips to Twin Falls this season. NIC travels to Twin Falls again Feb. 19, as well for the Region 18 tournament in March.
"This is our only shot at them at home," NIC men's coach Jared Phay said. "Anytime we play them at home, it's a big game. If we want to make a run at the conference championship, this is definitely a must win for us."
CSI, ranked eighth in this week's NJCAA men's poll, enters tonight's game with a two-game lead in the SWAC with a 6-1 record (20-2 overall), with 13th-ranked NIC (19-3, 4-3) and 19th-ranked Salt Lake (18-4, 4-3) tied for second.
"CSI is playing really, really well right now," Phay said. "They're the team to beat in the conference right now."
CSI defeated NIC 99-83 in Twin Falls on Jan. 8.
NIC hasn't lost since, winning four straight in SWAC play.
"Both of us have been playing pretty good," Phay said. "Our attitude all this week is that this game is a must win. We got embarrassed down there. All week in practice, the guys have been focused and fired up to redeem themselves."
Kenny Buckner, a 6-foot-9 inch post from CSI, verbally committed to Boise State last week. Freshman posts Paul Bunch (6-11) and Chris Patton (6-10) also figure to see time in the CSI frontcourt.
“They keep coming at you with bigs,” Phay said. “Bucker is definitely a load inside for them.”
The NIC women (19-2, 5-2 SWAC) snapped a two-game conference losing streak against CSI (17-5, 4-3) in Twin Falls with an 83-76 win on Jan. 9.
“It was an absolute battle down at their place,” NIC women’s coach Chris Carlson said. “I really think it’s going to be another one of those classic North vs. South battles. We need to defend our home court.”
NIC, ranked 11th, has won five straight, including a sweep of Salt Lake and Snow College last week. CSI, ranked 23rd, lost to Salt Lake 60-58 last Saturday in Twin Falls. NIC and Salt Lake (15-4, 5-2) are tied for first in the SWAC.
“Being able to get Salt Lake here was great for us,” Carlson said. “We were able to make some adjustments and play better basketball.”
NIC guard Amy Warbrick, who was slowed by a leg injury in the last matchup, is nearing full strength according to Carlson.
“She missed some of those games in Arizona and really didn’t play much against CSI earlier,” Carlson said. “What happened was Korina (Baker) started to play a little more and has gotten more comfortable on the floor. Both her and Amy have been playing a lot of minutes and have been really important to our team.”
CSI guard Felicity Jones scored 22 points in the earlier matchup.
“She’s an explosive player,” Carlson said. “They’ve got a really strong group of players.”
Laurel Kearsley, a first-team all conference selection last year and a former Teton High star, also returns for CSI.
“They’re a good team,” Carlson said. “They are real balanced. We really need to be solid off the bench because they’re a deep team also.”