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

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.

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