NIC ROUNDUP: Cardinal men fall to top-ranked Snow

| March 2, 2025 1:15 AM

• MEN'S BASKETBALL

EPHRAIM, Utah — Sophomore Deng Diew scored on a layup with 5:42 remaining to give North Idaho College a 65-62 lead, but top-ranked Snow closed the game on a 16-6 run to beat the Cardinals 78-71 in the Scenic West Athletic Conference final for both at the Horne Activity Center on Saturday.

NIC looked to extend the advantage but missed a 3-pointer. Snow then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 68-65 lead with 3:35 remaining.

“They’re such a well-coached team,” NIC coach Corey Symons said. “When you make mistakes, they’ll make you pay. They do a good job of sharing the ball and they can shoot it.”

With the loss, NIC (18-12, 8-7 SWAC) finished third and will face second-place Southern Idaho (21-9, 9-6) in the opening round of the Region 18 Tournament on Friday in Ephraim, Utah.

Top-seeded Snow (29-1, 15-0) will face fourth-seeded Salt Lake (19-11, 7-8) in the other opening round game. Friday’s winners will play next Saturday for the regional title, with that winner hosting the Region 1 champion in a district playoff game.

“It’s tough to lose to them three times, and you can get frustrated,” Symons said. “But you can still get them on the one that matters. We've got a lot of good film to watch. We need to fix some things in practice and prepare for CSI. But we want another shot at Snow if we’re lucky enough to get it.”

Diew finished with 15 points for NIC.

Isaac Finlinson scored 24 points for Snow.

NORTH IDAHO

Vaughn Weems 4-16 5-6 13, Deng Diew 5-8 5-5 15, Ne’quan Brown 2-7 1-3 5, Dace Pleasant 5-14 0-0 13, Tayshawn Colvin 0-0 2-2 2, Jeremiah Sibley 0-2 0-0 0, Sam Marbury 2-6 2-3 7, Jacori Ervin 5-7 3-5 13, Bryce Henry 0-0 0-0 0, Ajayi Simmons 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 24-61 18-24 71.

SNOW

Mark Brown 4-12 0-0 10, Isaac Finlinson 9-14 4-7 24, Coleman Ford 5-7 0-0 13, Sean Felts 3-4 1-3 7, Isaac Garrett 1-6 0-0 2, McCaden Adams 2-6 2-3 7, Chance Trujillo 3-5 2-2 11, Kyle Lemke 1-2 0-0 2. Aaron Bliss 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 29-57 9-15 78.

Halftime — Snow 38-36. 3-point goals — NIC 5-18 (Weems 0-2, Diew 0-1, Brown 0-4, Pleasant 3-8, Marbury 1-1, Ervin 0-1, Simmons 1-1), Snow 11-26 (Brown 2-6, Finlinson 2-4, Ford 3-5, Garrett 0-3, Adams 1-4, Trujillo 3-4). Rebounds — NIC 41 (Ervin 9), Snow 33 (Felts, Garrett 5). Assists — NIC 8 (Sibley, Marbury 2), Snow 18 (Brown 5). Team fouls — NIC 16, Snow 19. Fouled out — Brown, Garrett.

• WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Snow 65

North Idaho 59

EPHRAIM, Utah — Without starting guard Esmeralda Galindo for a second straight game, the Cardinals struggled to get going in the first half, battling back in the fourth quarter before falling to the Badgers in a Scenic West Athletic Conference game at the Horne Activity Center.

“We had a few turnovers and struggled to get into a ryhthm in the first half,” said NIC coach Nathan Covill, whose team was without Galindo due to a possible concussion sustained against CSI on Feb. 22. “We’re on the struggle bus right now. We can battle with these teams, but we need everything back.”

Sophomore Iratxe Amorrortu had 14 points, sophomore Kylani Rookstool 12 points and freshman Chloe Collin 12 points for NIC (17-12, 9-6 SWAC), which is second in the SWAC. Iyana Beh scored 15 points for Snow (19-10, 8-6), which is tied with Salt Lake (19-9, 8-6) for third.

The Badgers and Bruins will conclude the regular season in Ephraim on Wednesday. If Snow wins, it will be the second seed to the Region 18 Tournament and face NIC on March 13 in Twin Falls. If Salt Lake wins, the Bruins will face NIC and Badgers will face top-seeded CSI in the opening round.

“Hopefully we can get everyone back and healthy,” Covill said. “We’ve shown we can compete, but we’ll need everyone back to get it done.”

NORTH IDAHO

Chloe Collin 4-7 4-5 12, Kylani Rookstool 3-9 4-4 12, Ripeka Edwards 2-5 3-4 7, Iratxe Amorrortu 5-9 2-3 14, Summer Falaefa 3-4 0-0 7, Tiarnee Smith 0-2 0-0 0, Emmalee Secrest 2-5 2-2 6, Tayler Adams 0-1 1-2 1, Elisa Holakeituai 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 19-45 16-20 59.

SNOW

Brooke Pennington 3-9 2-2 10, Maliyah Elliott 2-4 1-2 5, Kiriana Hawaikirangi 6-10 0-0 14, Lili Suguturaga 4-9 0-0 8, Iyana Beh 6-8 3-4 15, Hadley Richins 0-2 0-0 0, Madison Hosino 2-4 0-0 6, Sydnee Smith 0-4 0-0 0, Seini Tuipulotu 2-6 1-2 5, Alisi Peaua 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-57 7-10 65.

North Idaho 12 10 16 21 — 59

Snow 16 18 10 21 — 65

3-point goals — NIC 5-15 (Rookstool 2-4, Edwards 0-1, Amorrortu 2-4, Falaefa 1-2, Smith 0-2, Secrest 0-1, Holakeituai 0-1), Snow 6-13 (Pennington 2-3, Elliott 0-1, Hawaikirangi 2-5, Suguturaga 0-1, Hosnio 2-3). Rebounds — NIC 25 (Amorrortu 5), Snow 38 (Hawaikirangi 8). Assists — NIC 8 (Amorrortu, Secrest 2), Snow 16 (Pennington 5). Team fouls — NIC 16, Snow 18. Fouled out — none.

• SOFTBALL

Southern Idaho 13-10

North Idaho 2-1

TWIN FALLS — The Cardinals managed seven hits on the day as they were swept by the Golden Eagles in a Scenic West Athletic Conference doubleheader.

“Not the start in conference that we wanted, but it is early,” NIC coach Michael Garoutte said. “We will bounce back and use the CSI series as a motivator for the rest of the year.”

NIC (8-10, 0-4 SWAC) is scheduled to host Snow in a doubleheader on Friday at Memorial Field.

CSI is 9-10, 4-0.

FIRST GAME

North Idaho 101 00 — 2 5 1

Southern Idaho 706 0x — 13 13 3

Game called in 5th inning due to 8-run rule.

Maelynn Durham, Makenna Weber (1), Kristine Schmidt (3) and Corine Duran; Fuller and Christian.

HITS: NIC — Hanchey, Doran, Larney, Nichols, Stern. CSI — Heitz, Archuleta 3, Christian, Keck, Yazzie 2, Banning 2, Crowley 2, Howell. 2B — Nichols, Archuleta, Keck, Yazzie. HR — Heitz, Banning, Crowley, Howell.

SECOND GAME

North Idaho 000 01 — 1 2 1

Southern Idaho 019 0x — 10 11 3

Game called in 5th inning due to 8-run rule.

Kristine Schmidt, Maliyah Mann (3), Lilly McNett (4) and Corine Doran; Mauger and Millius.

HITS: NIC — Nelson, Grooters. CSI — Hansen 2, Heitz 2, Archuleta, Keck, Yazzie, Banning, Millus, Crowley, Schauweck. 2B — Grooters, Archuleta, Millius, Crowley. HR — Banning.