COEUR d'ALENE - For a North Idaho College men's basketball team with 10 freshmen and only two sophomores, Friday's 82-75 nonconference win in overtime over Central Wyoming College of Riverton, Wyo., was an early test that the Cardinals passed.

Sophomore point guard Bryce Leavitt came up big at the free-throw line, going 6 for 6 and scoring 10 of the Cardinals' 14 points in overtime on Rolly Williams Court.

Leavitt's clutch performance came after Rustlers forward Daryle Morgan, Jr. nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer at the end of regulation, which tied the game at 68. NIC (3-0) led nearly the entire game before that shot. Leavitt finished with 14 points on 8-of-10 free-throw shooting, along with a team-high seven rebounds and six assists.

"After they hit that big three to send it into overtime, we all went back into the huddle," said Leavitt, a transfer from Washington State. "Everyone talked about how we had to get the momentum back. We just calmed down a little bit. We came into overtime, played some 'D', got to the (free-throw) line ... I was able to get some free throws down the stretch."

The game was NIC's closest game on the season and it led by as much as 10 points midway through the second half.

"It was really good for us," Cardinals coach Jared Phay said. "As much as we wanted to win by 20, it's better for us than anything that could've happened, especially the way that it happened. They came back and hit that 3 to send it into overtime. There was a lot of adversity we had to overcome."

The Cardinals took advantage of several putbacks off offensive rebounds the entire game and outrebounded Central Wyoming (1-4) 44-35 overall and 16-11 on the offensive glass.

"I thought we got a lot of offensive rebounds on them and putbacks," Phay said. "We did a good job with our height advantage."

Freshman forward Braxton Tucker, who led North Idaho College in scoring with 20 points, got the party started in overtime with a reverse layup that gave NIC a 70-68 lead. A steal led to a quick fast break layup by Tucker for a 72-68 lead, then with 3:25 left Leavitt knifed through the heart of the Rustlers' defense for another lay-in and a 74-68 lead.

Central Wyoming cut the lead down to 74-73 with 1:25 left in overtime, on a layup by Isaiah Tademy, who led the Rustlers with 20 points.

But Leavitt put the game on ice down the stretch, beginning with 51.9 seconds left in OT. A huge miss by Elmer Lopez at the top of the key was rebounded by North Idaho College, then with 19.1 seconds left, Leavitt's two made free throws extended the lead to 78-73. Leavitt made four more free throws as the Rustlers were forced to foul to stop the clock.

"He's big," Phay said of Leavitt. "He puts the time in. He's shooting three hours a day and it shows."

The Cardinals' beasts off the bench included guard Brad Wallace, who scored 13 points and had six rebounds, and Tatafu Nuku, who scored 10 points to go with seven rebounds.

North Idaho College hosts Arizona Western tonight at 5.

CENTRAL WYOMING

Isaiah Tademy 7-9 2-5 20, Daryle Morgan Jr. 5-14 3-5 14, Bryce Canda 4-6 0-0 9, Ryan Nemelka 1-6 2-2 5, Elmer Lopez 3-10 2-3 8, Jairo Lopez 3-5 5-10 11, Matt Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Ricky Norris 0-2 0-0 0, Malik Wilson 2-4 4-4 8. Totals 25-56 18-29 75.

NORTH IDAHO

Braxton Tucker 9-16 1-2 20, Bryce Leavitt 3-4, 8-10 14, Jordon King 6-13 0-1 13, Nathan Rathbun 1-1 0-0 2, Cole Kesler 1-8 0-0 2, Brad Wallace 4-10 2-2 13, Tatafu Nuku 5-9 0-0 10, Fuquan Niles 2-3 0-2 4, Will Dorsey 1-4 2-2 4. Totals 32-68 13-19 82.

Halftime - NIC 38-30. Regulation - 68-68. 3-point field goals - CWC 7-24 (Tademy 4-4, Lopez 0-6, Nemelka 1-6, Canda 1-2, Norris 0-1, Morgan 1-5). NIC 5-15 (Wallace 3-7, King 1-5, Tucker 1-1, Dorsey 0-1, Kesler 0-1). Rebounds - CWC 35 (Wilson 8). NIC 44 (Tucker, Leavitt, Nuku 7). Assists - CWC 14 (Lopez 5). NIC 13 (Leavitt 6). Team fouls - CWC 19, NIC 21. Fouled out - None. Technicals - None.