NIC BASKETBALL: Iced out .... Cardinal men go cold, fall to No. 2 Salt Lake

• MEN

COEUR d’ALENE — As we’re learning lately, a little cold stretch can really bite you.

On Saturday, indoors, a quick 16-0 run over a three-minute stretch created enough distance for second-ranked Salt Lake Community College in an 89-76 win over North Idaho College in their first Scenic West Athletic Conference matchup since the 2015-16 season.

NIC went from leading 45-44 with 18 minutes remaining to trailing the Bruins 60-45.

“Salt Lake’s a really good team and deep,” NIC coach Corey Symons said. “We can compete and we’re right there and we’ve got to clean up some stuff and mistakes. You can’t make mistakes against really good teams, and we had too many mental mistakes during that run. We just weren’t locked in mentally, and when you make mistakes against good teams, they’ll make you pay. And Salt Lake did that tonight.”

NIC shot 26-of-67 from the field, compared to 33-of-67 for Salt Lake.

It was fifth-year Salt Lake coach Kyle Taylor’s first visit to Coeur d’Alene.

“I love having North Idaho in the league,” Taylor said. “We need more good teams in the Scenic West. They’re well-coached by Corey Symons and it’s going to be fun coming up here. We’ve played them in some nonconference and jamborees. They’ve got a great group and go eight deep, with guys that can score in multiple ways. They’ve got a lot of versatility and are going to be dangerous in the Scenic West thls year.”

NIC cut the deficit to 74-65 with over seven minutes remaining on a 3-pointer by sophomore Cobi Campbell.

“We played great, and my guys played hard,” Symons said. “But when we made those mistakes, they made us pay.”

Jordan Battle, a transfer from Utah Valley University scored 23 points in 26 minutes off the bench for Salt Lake (16-2, 1-1), which was upset by Southern Idaho on Wednesday in Twin Falls. CJ Luster scored 21 for Salt Lake, which won the NJCAA title in NIC’s final year in the NJCAA in 2016.

“We just didn’t make baskets tonight,” Symons said. “In my guys’ defense, it’s hard to make baskets when you’re tired from playing defense like that and you’re a little short on your shot. Nothing against where we were, but there’s a little more game planning here. You’ve got to be able to prepare, and that starts with me. And we’ve got to be prepared with our scouts.”

Jalen Skalskiy, a redshirt sophomore from Lakeland High, had 20 points and seven rebounds for NIC (12-6, 0-2).

“Honestly, it’s a lot different,” Skalskiy said of the SWAC. “The physicality is a lot different and the dudes are a lot stronger. We’ve got a lot of stuff to work on.”

NIC hosts Colorado Northwestern on Thursday at 7 p.m.

“We’ve just got to bounce back,” Symons said. “It’s this league. It’s difficult and you’re not going to get a night off. We’ve just got to get ready to go Thursday.”

SALT LAKE 

CJ Luster 7-14 4-4 21, Bryce Zephir 6-8 1-1 15, Zaon Collins 1-7 0-0 3, Coen Collier 0-1 1-2 1, Xavier Edwards 3-5 2-3 8, Luke Smellie 0-0 1-2 1, Preston Squire 7-12 0-0 17, Mason Bendinger 0-3 0-0 0, Mikhail Abdul-Hamid 0-5 0-0 0, Jordan Battle 9-12 2-4 23. Totals 33-67 11-16 89.

NORTH IDAHO

Austin Johnson 3-12 5-5 14, Cobi Campbell 1-7 2-2 5, Kyle Karstetter 1-7 0-0 3, Dante Sawyer 1-8 0-0 2, Jalen Skalskiy 8-15 1-2 20, Terin Johnson 8-12 2-5 18, Vaughn Weems 4-6 6-7 14, Tayshawn Colvin 0-0 0-0 0, Bryce Henry 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-67 16-21 76.

Halftime — SLCC 41-40. 3-point goals — SLCC 12-34 (Luster 3-7, Zephir 2-4, Collins 1-6, Edmonds 0-2, Squire 3-5, Bendinger 0-1, Abdul-Hamid 0-4, Battle 3-5), NIC 8-24 (A. Johnson 3-8, Campbell 1-3, Karstetter 1-3, Sawyer 0-3, Skalskiy 3-7). Rebounds — SLCC 29 (Zephir, Edmonds, Squire 6), NIC 30 (Skalskiy, T. Johnson 7). Assists — SLCC 13 (Collins 6), NIC 13 (Sawyer 4). Team fouls — SLCC 19, NIC 17. Fouled out — none.

• WOMEN

Salt Lake 81

North Idaho 50

COEUR d’ALENE — After being away from the Scenic West Athletic Conference, the Cardinals are getting a crash course in the level of play in the NJCAA again.

Salt Lake is there.

NIC is still working its way back.

Sophomore Karina Grayer was 4 of 7 from the 3-point line, finishing with 14 points for the Bruins in the conference win over the Cardinals (7-10, 0-2) at Rolly Williams Court.

“They started hot and No. 25 (Karina Grayer) hit three 3s to start the game and we’re down 16 right away,” NIC women’s basketball coach Nathan Covill said. “We played them pretty well even in the second quarter and then the message in the second half is that we’re going to have to understand the physicality of our conference has increased. Not that they were bullying us, but sometimes, you’ve got to take care of the schoolyard bully. They’re physical and take you out of your cuts. They make you go where they want you to go. And we’ve got to learn to fight through that. And we’ve got a group that’s figured that out and another that’s struggling to figure that out.”

It was Salt Lake’s (14-4, 2-0) first trip to Coeur d’Alene since the 2015-16 season, after which NIC departed the SWAC for the Northwest Athletic Conference.

“I’m excited they’re back,” Salt Lake coach Marcilina Grayer said. “It was one of my favorite trips as a player at Salt Lake and a coach. It’s a tough place to play and I missed coming here. It’s surreal. The woman and mentor I look up to (Betsy Specketer, who Grayer replaced in 2019) coached here and we had some great games in this gym. One thing she always said is that she loved the smell of the popcorn and the band playing. It’s really an atmosphere we don’t have in a lot of other gyms in the conference. You can’t hear (anything), so you’ve got to use signals. It’s a fun environment.”

“This conference is really freaking hard,” Covill said. “And Salt Lake, for not being ranked, they’re freaking good. They went into CSI and got them and then got us. They’re physical and they’ve spend some time in the weight room and are competitive. And that’s where we need to be. This is where our kids need to be. They need to look at this experience and see that’s where we want to be.”

Kendall Pickford, a redshirt freshman from Lake City High who played briefly at NAIA Arizona Christian last season, had eight points and three assists for NIC, which finished 20-of-58 shooting.

“She doesn’t get a lot of recognition for this, but she’s been playing out of position,” Covill said of Pickford, a point guard who has been playing forward for the Cardinals. “She’s sacrificing a lot of her opportunities so that we can run things and I’m always going to be happy with what she brings. Addie (Kiefer), Solei (Elletson) and Maddie (Williamson), they’re working at it. But sometimes it takes us too long to get into our stuff quickly enough because they’re taking you out of things. And we need to be able to take care of those things. We’ve got to up the level of our practice to meet the standards of this conference.”

Since Colorado Northwestern does not have a women's team, NIC's next game is next Saturday at home vs. Utah State-Eastern.

SALT LAKE

Heaven Samoyoa-Mathi 2-6 1-1 5, Ana Oliveria Dias 3-5 0-0 6, Mia Tarver 3-9 0-0 7, Karina Grayer 5-9 0-0 14, Laura Di Stefano 3-5 1-2 7, Summer Larson 0-2 000 0, Cambree Tensmayer 1-2 0-1 2, Bati Assefa 0-1 2-2 2, Funi Amode 0-3 0-0 0, Ines Ghanore 9-13 4-5 22, Cecilia Olevao 1-1 0-0 2, Jeanne Rodriguez 6-8 2-3 14. Totals 33-64 10-14 81.

NORTH IDAHO

Deniece Ryan 3-6 0-0 6, Maddie Williamson 3-9 0-0 6, Iratxe Amorrortu 3-10 0-0 8, Addie Kiefer 3-8 2-3 8, Kendall Pickford 3-8 0-0 8, Solei Elletson 4-9 0-0 9, Kalysta Troman 1-4 0-0 3, Diana Morales 0-3 1-2 1, Aaliyah Clemons 0-0 0-0 0, Katie Blume 0-0 0-0 0, Faye Davis 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 20-58 4-7 50.

Salt Lake    22    23    17    19    —    81

North Idaho    6    18    13    13    —    50

3-point goals — SLCC 5-24 (Samoya-Mathi 0-4, Oliveira Dias 0-1, Tarver 1-6, Grayer 4-7, Larson 0-1, Tensmayer 0-1, Amode 0-1, Gnahore 0-2), NIC 6-21 (Williamson 0-2, Amorrortu 2-4, Pickford 2-7, Elletson 1-4, Troman 1-3, Morales 0-1). Rebounds — SLCC 39 (Ghanore 8), NIC 21 (Elletson 6). Assists — SLCC 15 (Samayoa-Mathi 5), NIC 8 (Pickford 3). Team fouls — SLCC, NIC 13. Fouled out — none.

    KYLE DISHAW PHOTOGRAPHY North Idaho College's Kendall Pickford, a redshirt freshman guard from Lake City High, shoots over Salt Lake's Ines Gnahore during the first half of Saturday's Scenic West Athletic Conference game at Rolly Williams Court.