NIC closes out Pima CC tourney with victory

TUCSON, Ariz. — Emmitt Taylor III scored 22 points off the bench, and North Idaho College held off Cochise College 88-84 in the Cardinals’ third and final game at the Aztec Winter Classic at Pima Community College.

Taylor scored all of his baskets from 3-point range, connecting on 6-of-13 from beyond the arc, and also went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line as NIC (12-1) won two out of three games in Tucson. Monday’s finale saw both teams shoot just under 46 percent from the floor, but the Cardinals had the edge in free throws, going 18-for-26 as a team compared to 13-for-21 for Cochise.

Yusuf Mohamed added 17 points and six rebounds for NIC, also off the bench, while starter Jaden Dewar had 12 points and seven rebounds.

Naje Smith led Cochise College (9-5) with 22 points and eight rebounds.

The Cardinals begin Northwest Athletic Conference play on Thursday as they host Big Bend at 7:30 p.m. at Christianson Gymnasium.

NORTH IDAHO

Nate Pryor 3-5 0-2 7, Phillip Malatare 2-8 1-2 6, James Carlson 3-6 0-2 6, Joey Naccarato 2-4 4-5 8, Jaden Dewar 5-10 2-3 12, Tyler Tanner 0-1 0-0 0, Emmitt Taylor III 6-14 4-4 22, Yusuf Mohamed 6-10 5-6 17, Marcus Austin 2-7 2-2 8, Terrance Marigney 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 30-66 18-26 88.

COCHISE COLLEGE

Damon Wall 4-16 5-7 15, Arion Lewis 4-13 0-2 10, Patrick Samoura 3-5 3-4 10, Milan Szabo 3-4 1-2 7, Naje Smith 9-13 3-3 22, Donte DuPriest 3-8 0-1 6, QuayShawn Gentry 3-6 0-0 9, Jamaal Coleman 2-3 1-2 5, Kyle Moore 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-68 13-21 84.

Halftime — NIC 43-39. 3-point goals — NIC 10-33 (Taylor 6-13, Austin 2-6, Pryor 1-3, Malatare 1-4, Carlson 0-1, Tanner 0-1, Mohamed 0-2, Dewar 0-3); Cochise 9-33 (Gentry 3-6, Lewis 2-9, Wall 2-10, Samoura 1-3, Smith 1-3, DuPriest 0-2). Rebounds — NIC 46 (Malatare 9), Cochise 37 (Smith 8). Assists — NIC 20 (Pryor 12), Cochise 13 (Wall 4). Team fouls — NIC 19, Cochise 22. Fouled out — Carlson, Smith. Technical fouls — Mohamed, Cochise College bench.