NIC romps to repeat title
TRACY SWISHER/Northwest Athletic Conference The North Idaho College men’s basketball team celebrates after beating Walla Walla Community College 104-73 in the championship game of the Northwest Athletic Conference tournament Sunday in Everett, Wash. It was NIC’s second straight conference tourney title.
TRACY SWISHER/Northwest Athletic Conference Alphonso Anderson of North Idaho College dunks for two of his 32 points in the Cardinals’ championship game win over Walla Walla on Sunday.
TRACY SWISHER/Northwest Athletic Conference North Idaho College coach Corey Symons celebrates after the Cardinals won their second straight NWAC men’s basketball tourney title Sunday in Everett, Wash.
EVERETT, Wash. — North Idaho College dominated conference play in men’s basketball this season, so it was only fitting the Cardinals capped their second straight Northwest Athletic Conference tournament championship in similarly triumphant fashion.
Tournament MVP RayQuan Evans totaled 32 points and six assists as NIC trounced Walla Walla Community College 104-73 in the title game Sunday at Everett Community College.
“The nice thing is, we had a lot of good players,” fourth-year NIC coach Corey Symons said. “Our depth just wore on people.”
NIC (31-2) won its last 22 games. The Cardinals went undefeated in NWAC East Region play, winning by an average of 39.1 points. Only one game was decided by less than 10 points (a 97-89 win at Treasure Valley). The rest were decided by between 25 and 74 points.
Utah State signee Alphonso Anderson added 32 points, 10 rebounds and three steals for NIC. Washington commit Nate Pryor had 15 points, and Jarod Greene chipped in 15 points and nine rebounds.
For the second straight night, NIC fell behind in the the first half.
This time the Cardinals trailed 22-13 when Dillon Young of Walla Walla hit a 3-pointer with 12:41 left in the first half, before amping up the pressure and outscoring Walla Walla 36-16 the rest of the half. NIC kept pulling away in the second half, leading by as much as 34.
Symons said the Cardinals like to start out in a press, then play zone for the first 10 minutes before switching to man-to-man.
“You could see the pressure wear on them,” Symons said.
Evans, who was also MVP of last year’s tourney, visited with Georgetown coach and Hoya legend Patrick Ewing after Saturday’s semifinal win. He also is being pursued by Colorado, Utah, TCU, Washington State and others.
“RayQuan’s been a pretty special player,” Symons said. “What’s really special is, he’s such a team guy; he has no problem sitting on the back burner. But he can take over when he needs to.”
NIC shot 57.7 percent (41 of 71) from the floor for the game. Walla Walla shot 46.7 percent (14 of 30) from the floor in the first half, but just 28.9 percent (11 of 38) in the second half. Forty-two of the Warriors’s 68 shots were 3-pointers — Walla Walla hit 9 of 21 behind the arc in the first half, 5 of 21 in the second half.
Damen Thacker led Walla Walla, which lost to NIC by 25 and 31 points in conference play, with 17 points and six assists.
NIC is the first men’s school to repeat as NWAC tourney champs since Clackamas in 2009 and ’10.
In addition to Evans, Anderson and Pryor were also named to the all-tournament first team. Emmitt Taylor III was named to the second team, and Iaian McLaughlin was named most inspirational.
Symons said the difference between the two title teams was NIC was considered an underdog last year at the conference tournament, as the third seed out of the East Region. This year, the Cards emerged as the favorites early, and powered to the championship even though “everybody wanted to come out and beat us,” Symons said.
WALLA WALLA
Damen Thacker 5-13 5-7 17, Forrest Smith 5-14 0-0 13, Jared Anderson 1-2 0-0 2, David Howard 3-8 0-0 9, Jake Albright 5-12 2-2 13, Keeshawne Clarke 1-3 0-0 3, Leonel Gallegos 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson Clark 0-1 0-0 0, Jake Costello 3-4 2-2 10, Wyatt Hardin 0-1 0-0 0, Dillon Young 2-7 0-0 6, Kyler Villerreal 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 25-68 9-13 73.
NORTH IDAHO
RayQuan Evans 11-17 9-9 32, Nate Pryor 6-11 3-6 15, Phillip Malatare 0-4 0-0 0, Alphonso Anderson 13-20 3-4 32, Jarod Greene 7-8, 1-2 15, Emmitt Taylor III 2-5 0-0 5, Iaian McLaughlin 0-2 0-0 0, Yusuf Mohamed 0-1 0-1 0, James Carlson 2-2 0-0 4, Jaden Dewar 0-1 1-2 1, Ismael Valdez 0-0 0-0 0, Drew Sheridan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 41-71 17-24 104.
Halftime — NIC 49-38. 3-point goals — WWCC 14-42 (Thacker 2-7, Smith 3-11, Howard 3-8, Albright 1-1, Clarke 1-3, Gallegos 0-1, Costello 2-3, Young 2-6, Villerreal 0-2), NIC 5-14 (Evans 1-3, Malatare 0-1, Anderson 3-5, Taylor 1-3, McLaughlin 0-1, Mohamed 0-1). Rebounds — WWCC 31 (Albright 10), NIC 45 (Anderson 10). Assists — WWCC 13 (Thacker 6), NIC 14 (Evans 6). Fouled out — none. Total fouls — WWCC 17, NIC 15.
NWAC BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Everett Community College
MEN
Saturday, March 16
Semifinals
North Idaho 85, Lane 78
Walla Walla 76, Spokane 65
Sunday, March 17
Championship
North Idaho 104, Walla Walla 73
WOMEN
Saturday, March 16
Semifinals
Umpqua 80, Big Bend 73
Wenatchee Valley 84, Lane 81
Sunday, March 17
Championship
Wenatchee Valley (28-5) 74, Umpqua (28-5) 70