Stunner in Twin Falls

TWIN FALLS - North Idaho College men's basketball coach Corey Symons told his team earlier this week that if they could match intensity with the third-ranked College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles - coached by former NIC coach Jared Phay - they could play right with them.

Consider it done.

NIC guard Austin Pope hit a game-winning free throw with 11 seconds remaining as the Cardinals upset the third-ranked Golden Eagles 69-68 in a Scenic West Athletic Conference game on Saturday.

"It was a tough, hard-fought battle," Symons said. "I told them all week in practice that if we could match the intensity they play with, we can compete with them. The guys just played hard and came out with the win."

Braian Angola-Rodas had 17 points, eight rebounds and two steals for NIC. Jamaal Robateau added 11 points, Pope and D'Adrian Allen 10 each.

The loss snaps a 25-game win streak by CSI (25-1, 10-1) to start the season.

NIC gained its largest lead of the game at 51-41 on a jumper by Jamaal Robateau with 10:38 remaining, but CSI scored four points in 30 seconds and tied the game on a free throw by Shaq Carr with 33 seconds remaining.

"I'm proud of the guys," Symons said. "They played really well. We came down here a little light-handed, and they fought their tails off."

NIC played without Djuan Piper (suspension) and Charlie Lockwood, who suffered a concussion during practice on Tuesday and wasn't cleared to play.

NIC outrebounded CSI 51-37.

"I was really happy with our effort," Symons said. "Everyone contributed. We took care of the ball when we needed to. It was a tough environment, but just a big win for us."

Carr scored 17 points for CSI, which had a 3-pointer to win the game come up short with two seconds remaining.

"Our gameplan was to make them knock down some shots and make them settle for jump shots," Symons said. "They had kind of a cold streak in the second half, and that's when we got going. They had a good look to win it, and it rimmed out."

NIC returns home to face Utah State-Eastern on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

NORTH IDAHO

Jamaal Robateau 2-5 6-8 11, Braian Angola-Rodas 8-19 1-4 17, Fuquan Niles 0-1 2-2 2, Kyle Guice 2-9 1-7 5, Austin Pope 3-10 4-6 10, Lucas Antunez 1-1 0-0 3, Jordan King 2-5 0-0 5, Ty Higbie 1-2 0-0 3, Marcus Harris 1-2 1-2 3, D'Adrian Allen 4-6 2-2 10. Totals 24-60 16-24 69.

SOUTHERN IDAHO

Abdoulave Harouna 3-8 3-4 11, Tyson Smith 2-12 5-6 10, Fredrick Edmond 2-9 5-10 9, Pape Diatta 3-5 1-2 7, Keonta Vernon 1-4 1-2 3, Shaq Carr 5-11 5-7 17, Ar'Mond Davis 2-4 0-0 5, Ray Kasongo 1-2 1-2 3, Uchenna Iroegbu 1-3 0-1 2, Austin Winegar 0-0 1-2 1, Kenrick Hudson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-58 22-36 68.

Halftime - CSI 32-29. 3-point goals - NIC 5-20 (Angola-Rodas 0-3, Robateau 1-3, Pope 0-1, Guice 1-7, King 1-2, Higbie 1-2, Antunez 1-1, Harris 0-1), CSI 6-24 (Harouna 2-5, Smith 1-8, Edmond 0-2, Diatta 0-2, Carr 2-3, Davis 1-2, Iroegbu 0-2). Rebounds - NIC 51 (Pope 10), CSI 37 (Edmond 9). Assists - NIC 10 (Angola-Rodas, Pope 3), CSI 15 (Edmond 5). Team fouls - NIC 26, CSI 18. Team fouls - none.