NIC ROUNDUP: Takafua's tech fall lifts No. 5 Cardinals to win at No. 4 Clackamas
• WRESTLING
OREGON CITY, Ore. — With the match on the line, North Idaho College freshman Tominiko “TJ” Takafua didn’t just get confident.
He got the job done.
Takafua, from Sunnyvale, Calif., beat Maddox Griggs by technical fall 22-5 at 285 pounds as the fifth-ranked Cardinals beat No. 4 Clackamas 21-20 in a matchup of top-five teams in the NJCAA on Friday.
“These are always the big matches and one of the best rivalries in college wrestling,” NIC coach Derrick Booth said. “Anytime you can go there and get a win, it’s huge. It doesn’t always look pretty. But to get a win like that, it’s big.”
Noah Poe-Hatten, a freshman from Kalispell, Mont., beat Braden Pease 5-1 at 184 for NIC, which trailed 20-10 going into that weight. NIC sophomore Bradley Whitwright pinned Asaiah Kamplain in 6 minutes, 31 seconds at 197.
“We’ve relied on those guys all year,” Booth said. “Noah’s had a great year and Bradley knew he needed to get a result. TJ has been rounding into his own and hopefully this will spring him into a strong second half of the season.”
NIC returns to action Dec. 17 with a tri-dual with Northwest Kansas Tech, Otero and Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo.
125 — Ane’e Vigil, Clack, d. Kobi Johnson, 10-3. 133 — Zach Lopez, NIC, md. Tim Lopez, 18-6. 141 — Cesar Avelar, Clack, md. Hunter Bidelman, 12-1. 149 — Dante Oliverio, Clack, d. Evan Barajas, 7-5. 157 — Porter Craig, NIC, d. Josh Hannan, 5-1. 165 — Austin Raby, Clack, md. Travis Waldner, 17-4. 174 — Paul Ortiz, Clack, p. Conan Northwind, 3:45. 184 — Noah Poe-Hatten, NIC, d. Braden Pease, 5-1. 197 — Bradley Whitwright, NIC, p. Asaiah Kamplain, 6:31. 285 — Tominiko Takafua, NIC, tf. Maddox Griggs, 22-5.
• MEN'S BASKETBALL
Green River 84
North Idaho 80
WENATCHEE, Wash. — The visiting Cardinals had 21 turnovers in a loss to the Gators of Auburn, Wash., as part of the Native American Classic at the Town Toyota Center.
Dante Sawyer, a sophomore transfer from San Francisco City College, had 22 points and three assists for NIC.
NIC (8-3), which trailed by as much as nine in the second half, cut the deficit to 73-73 on a free throw by Sawyer with 3:01 remaining. After a pair of free throws by Green River, sophomore Cobi Campbell hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 77-75 before Green River extended the lead again.
Jalen Skalskiy, a redshirt sophomore from Lakeland High, had 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists for NIC, which is idle until hosting Big Bend in the Best Western Coeur d’Alene Inn-vitational on Dec. 28 at 7 p.m.
Peyton Norland had 28 points and eight assists for Green River (5-2).
NORTH IDAHO
Cobi Campbell 3-6 0-0 8, Kyle Karstetter 0-2 0-0 0, Tayshawn Colvin 0-0 2-2 2, Dante Sawyer 9-18 3-5 22, Jalen Skalskiy 4-7 4-4 13, Terin Johnson 6-7 2-4 14, Austin Johnson 2-5 1-1 6, Vaughn Weems 5-7 4-4 14, Tanner Tollestrup 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-52 16-20 80.
GREEN RIVER
Peyton Norland 8-13 4-4 24, Clayton Whitman 5-7 0-2 13, Jaiden Feroah 8-17 2-3 19, Jayden Wright 3-9 3-5 10, Tyler Burraston 3-7 0-0 8, Titus Bailey 1-1 0-0 3, Maddux Albers 0-1 0-0 0, Drysten Heard 1-5 0-0 3, Joel Meske 1-1 0-0 2, Barrett Fernandez 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 31-63 9-15 84.
Halftime — NIC 39-37. 3-point goals — NIC 6-13 (Campbell 2-4, Sawyer 1-3, Skalskiy 2-3, A. Johnson 1-2, Weems 0-1), GRC 13-31 (Norland 4-8, Whitman 3-5, Feroah 1-4, Wright 1-3, Burraston 2-5, Bailey 1-1, Albers 0-1, Heard 1-3, Fernandez 0-1). Assists — NIC 21 (Skalskiy 5), GRC 20 (Norland 8). Team fouls — NIC 18, GRC 18. Fouled out — none.