Welcome back ... Cardinal men snap rival CSI's 26-game conference win streak

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

COEUR d'ALENE — Yes, it's still a rivalry.

Eight years later, there's still something special when Southern Idaho and North Idaho College face off on the basketball court in the Scenic West Athletic Conference.

Sure, the Cardinals might have been away in the regionally-based Northwest Athletic Conference, but Saturday, the men's team sent a message loud and clear to the folks in Twin Falls.

The Cardinals are back.

Sophomore Austin Johnson, a transfer from CSI, had 19 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Cardinal men (16-6, 4-2 SWAC)  in a 91-73 win over 21st-ranked CSI (17-6, 5-1) in the teams' first conference meeting since the 2015-16 season, in front of an estimated 1,100 at Rolly Williams Court on Saturday.

"I told the guys it just felt like there was a different energy in the building tonight," NIC coach Corey Symons said. "We had a great crowd and it really felt like a playoff game, and you could tell with the crowd. We appreciated them coming out and gave them a good product."

NIC hosts Community Christian in men's basketball on Wednesday. The game is a makeup of the Jan. 27 game in Redlands, Calif. 

MEN

North Idaho 91, Southern Idaho 73: Johnson had 10 points and all five of his rebounds in the first half for NIC, which led 49-33 at halftime.

"I went there last year, so it was personal," Johnson said. "Not bad blood or anything — CSI is a great program and notoriously good and I enjoyed my time there. As a team, that's the No. 1 team in the league and they're hot right now. We've been due for a big win. We lost here to Snow and Salt Lake when we had them. We were just due."

NIC's last home win against CSI came in 2016, when the Cardinals won the conference title in their final season in the conference before moving to the NWAC.

"If you can't get up for a rivalry game, you've got problems," said Symons, in his 10th season as head coach and 20th overall. "These guys don't really realize how big of a rivalry this is, and I've tried to preach it to them. They got up and listened to the game plan and did their job and really played hard. The guys came out, played hard and did their thing."

Kyle Karstetter, a sophomore from Moses Lake, Wash., had 15 points and 11 rebounds, sophomore Dante Sawyer from San Francisco 13 points and four assists and freshman Vaughn Weems of Federal Way, Wash., 17 points off the bench for the Cardinals.

"The guys are really sharing the ball and starting to play together," Symons said. "When they're doing that, we're really good and we can beat anybody when we do that."

Jalen Skalskiy, a redshirt sophomore from Lakeland High, had 11 points and four rebounds for the Cardinals.

NIC has won five straight games against CSI, with a nonconference win in 2019 at Twin Falls.

Jaylon Johnson, a sophomore from Houston, had 17 points for CSI, which had its 26-game conference win streak dating back to 2021 snapped.

"NIC played well," fifth-year CSI coach Jeff Reinert said. "That's the best I've seen them play on film. They did a great job defensively and clogging it up and did a good job. We didn't make free throws and that kind of hurt when we're trying to claw back into it and get some momentum going."

It was the first conference matchup between the schools since the 2015-16 season.

"You know what's great is NIC is back in the league," Reinert said. "Southern Idaho and North Idaho can play. It's such a nice game for us and our conference and everybody involved. I knew it was going to be a difficult game and a 50/50 game. They really played well. Credit to them. They did a super job."

Freshman Walker Timme, the younger brother of Gonzaga star Drew Timme, had six points and two rebounds for CSI.

SOUTHERN IDAHO

Asim Jones 5-13 4-6 16, Jaylon Johnson 5-17 5-7 17, Britton Berrett 3-6 2-2 10, Shahid Muhammed 1-1 1-2 3, Sam Phipps 5-9 0-2 10, Dale Griffin 0-1 0-0 0, Alan Kane 1-1 0-0 2, Jordan Hamilton 1-4 0-0 2, Cassius Carmichael 0-0 0-0 0, Isaac Hawkins 0-1 0-0 0, Walker Timme 2-3 2-4 6, Jakari Livingston 1-3 4-6 7. Totals 24-59 18-29 73.

NORTH IDAHO

Austin Johnson 5-12 6-9 19, Cobi Campbell 2-2 2-2 8, Kyle Karstetter 5-8 0-2 15, Dante Sawyer 6-12 1-2 13, Jalen Skalskiy 4-8 2-2 11, Terin Johnson 4-8 0-1 8, Vaughn Weems 5-7 6-8 17, Bryce Henry 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-58 17-26 91.

Halftime — NIC 49-33. 3-point goals — CSI 7-26 (Jones 2-7, Johnson 2-9, Berrett 2-4, Phipps 0-1, Hamilton 0-1, Timme 0-1, Livingston 1-3), NIC 12-19 (A. Johnson 3-6, Campbell 2-2, Karstetter 5-7, Skalskiy 1-1, T. Johnson 0-1, Weems 1-1, Henry 0-1). Rebounds — CSI 29 (Johnson 9), NIC 35 (Karstetter 10). Assists — CSI 9 (Johnson 4), NIC 18 (Campbell 5). Team fouls — CSI 25, NIC 22. Fouled out — Jones. Technical fouls — J. Johnson.

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