NIC ROUNDUP: Cardinal men win fifth straight, topple Southern Nevada
• MEN'S BASKETBALL
COEUR d’ALENE — Sophomore Cobi Campbell, who signed with Troy University in November, had 23 points and three assists for North Idaho College in a 99-81 win over the College of Southern Nevada Coyotes on sophomore day at Rolly Williams Court on Saturday.
Jalen Skalskiy, a redshirt sophomore from Lakeland High, had 19 points, three rebounds and three assists for NIC (17-6, 5-2 SWAC), which outrebounded the Coyotes of Las Vegas 42-30. Austin Johnson, a sophomore transfer from College of Southern Idaho, had 13 points and five rebounds in the win.
Samuel Steele-Williams had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists for Southern Nevada (2-18, 0-8).
NIC travels to Snow College of Ephraim, Utah, on Thursday.
SOUTHERN NEVADA
Jhadon Banks 5-12 0-2 10, Lorenzo Abellar 3-12 0-2 8, Samuel Steele-Williams 5-8 7-9 19, Isaiah James 3-7 1-2 7, Chase Jackson 5-7 0-0 10, Tanner Schauberger 0-0 0-0 0, A’lyjah Conway-Wilson 6-9 0-0 13, LeRon Wright 4-11 0-0 12, David Estes 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 32-71 8-15 81.
NORTH IDAHO
Austin Johnson 4-8 2-2 13, Cobi Campbell 7-12 4-4 23, Kyle Karstetter 2-7 2-2 8, Dante Sawyer 3-3 2-3 8, Jalen Skalskiy 8-12 2-3 19, Terin Johnson 3-9 0-0 6, Vaughn Weems 3-6 0-0 6, D’Andre Clermont 0-0 0-0 0, Tayshawn Colvin 3-5 0-1 6, Bryce Henry 1-3 0-0 2, Tanner Tollestrup 3-4 0-0 8. Totals 37-69 12-15 99.
Halftime — NIC 55-33. 3-point goals — CSN 9-23 (Abellar 2-6, Steele-William 2-4, James 0-2, Conway-Wilson 1-2, Wright 4-8, Estes 0-1), NIC 13-26 (A. Johnson 3-5, Campbell 5-9, Karstetter 2-5, Skalskiy 1-3, Colvin 0-1, Tollestrup 2-3). Rebounds — CSN 30 (Steele-Williams, Conway-Wilson 6), NIC 42 (T. Johnson 9). Assists — CSN 16 (Banks 4), NIC 18 (Campbell, Skalskiy 3). Team fouls — CSN 19, NIC 13. Fouled out — Banks.
• WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Southern Nevada 72
North Idaho 54
COEUR d’ALENE — The Cardinals dropped their sixth straight game in Scenic West Conference play, falling to the Coyotes at Rolly Williams Court.
“It was a great first half, but a selfish second half,” said NIC coach Nathan Covill, whose team led 35-30 at halftime before being outscored 22-8 in the third quarter. “Southern Nevada played hard and we just didn’t respond to the physicality and played casual in the second half. When you do that, they’ll take advantage of that.”
Layla Faught scored 20 points, hitting six 3-pointers in the second half for Southern Nevada (20-4, 3-4 SWAC).
Freshman Deniece Ryan had 14 points and four rebounds for North Idaho (7-14, 0-6), which travels to Snow College of Ephraim, Utah, on Thursday.
SOUTHERN NEVADA
Faith Mersburgh 0-2 0-0 0, Keyna Hadley 1-3 0-0 2, Aaliyah Ibarra 4-11 2-2 12, Paige Grant 1-6 1-2 2, Jordyn Stroud 10-15 2-2 22, Layla Faught 7-14 0-2 20, Alliyah Castro 1-1 0-0 3, Braelyn Kauhi 0-1 0-0 0, Leah Mitchell 0-1 3-4 3, Adrienne Puletasi 3-5 1-2 7. Totals 27-59 9-14 72.
NORTH IDAHO
Solei Elletson 5-13 2-2 12, Deniece Ryan 6-12 2-5 14, Diana Morales 2-6 0-0 4, Addie Kiefer 3-7 0-4 6, Faye Davis 0-3 0-0 0, Anna Serret 0-0 0-0 0, Kalysta Troman 1-1 1-2 3, Maddie Williamson 4-10 0-0 9, Aaliyah Clemons 0-0 0-0 0, Iratxe Amorrortu 1-5 0-0 3, Kendall Pickford 1-6 0-0 3. Totals 23-63 5-13 54.
Southern Nevada 14 16 22 20 — 72
North Idaho 21 14 8 11 — 54
3-point goals — CSN 9-25 (Mersburgh 0-2, Hadley 0-1, Ibarra 2-7, Faught 6-13, Castro 1-1, Kauhi 0-1), NIC 3-15 (Elletson 0-1, Ryan 0-1, Morales 0-1, Williamson 1-3, Amorrortu 1-3, Pickford 1-6). Rebounds — CSN 40 (Hadley 9), NIC 30 (Kiefer 8). Assists — CSN 15 (Grant 4), NIC 10 (Elletson 3). Team fouls — CSN 15, NIC 11. Fouled out — none.
• WRESTLING
NIC to compete in
NJCAA qualifier today
ROSEBURG, Ore. — North Idaho College will be seeking its first regional title since 2013 when it takes part in the West District Championships today on the campus of Umpqua Community College.
The tournament begins at 10 a.m., with championship finals at 12:45 p.m.
Freshman Elijah Cater (125 pounds), sophomore Kobi Johnson (133), freshman Hunter Bidelman (141), freshman Jermiah Zuniga (149), redshirt freshman Porter Craig (157), sophomore Travis Waldner (165), freshman Conan Northwind (174), freshman Noah Poe-Hatten (184), sophomore Bradley Whitwright (197) and freshman Tominiko Takafua (285) will compete for the Cardinals.
“We’ve got a lot of youth, but they’re hungry guys,” said NIC coach Derrick Booth, in his first full season as coach after serving as interim coach last year. “Everyone has a goal and is hungry to achieve that. We’ve got a lot of capable guys of getting it done.”
Craig, who won a state title at Coeur d’Alene High as a senior in 2021, is 22-5.
Whitwright, a sophomore from Cheyenne, Wyo., went 2-2 at nationals in 2023.
Johnson, a sophomore from Greeley, Colo., also went 2-2 at 125.
Clackamas of Oregon City, Ore., has won the last nine district championships.
The top three in each weight class, plus five wild card entries throughout the 10 weight classes advance to the NJCAA Tournament March 1-2 at the Mid-American Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The tournament will be webcast on FloWrestling.com.
NIC LINEUP: 125 — Elijah Cater (48-9). 133 — Kobi Johnson (20-4). 141 — Hunter Bidelman (29-5). 149 — Jermiah Zuniga (23-6). 157 — Porter Craig (22-5). 165 — Travis Waldner (13-6). 174 — Conan Northwind (20-9). 184 — Noah Poe-Hatten (35-8). 197 — Bradley Whitwright (16-11). 285 — Tominiko Takafua (25-12).