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WALLA WALLA, Wash. — The North Idaho College Cardinals led by as much as 19 points early in the second half, saw nearly all of that lead disappear before holding off the Walla Walla Warriors 82-75 in Northwest Athletic Conference play Saturday at the Dietrich Activity Center.

Brendon Johnson scored 20 points for East Region-leading NIC (25-0, 13-0 NWAC), and Julius Mims added 13.

Josh Gillespie of second-place Walla Walla (21-5, 10-3) led all scorers with 23 points. Covy Kelly, the former Garden Valley High star, added 16, including a 3-pointer to cut the Cardinals’ lead to 64-63 with 9:33 remaining.

NIC plays host to third-place Community Colleges of Spokane (20-6, 10-4) on Wednesday.

NORTH IDAHO

Julius Mims 6-9 0-2 13, Xavier Bailey 3-5 1-2 8, Cobi Campbell 4-12 0-1 10, Brendon Johnson 7-12 5-5 20, Taden King 5-12 0-0 11, Jeremiah Sibley 0-0 0-0 0, Kamryn Thomas 3-4 0-0 6, Phil Holmes 3-6 0-0 6, Kyle Karstetter 3-5 0-0 8. Totals 34-65 6-10 82.

WALLA WALLA

Covy Kelly 6-11 0-0 16, Spencer Wright 3-4 0-0 8, Trey Arland 3-7 0-0 9, Josh Gillespie 10-16 3-3 23, Kyson Rose 6-16 0-0 14, Aidan Fraly 0-1 0-0 0, Jordan Hymas 2-3 1-1 5. Totals 30-58 4-4 75.

Halftime — NIC 48-34. 3-point goals — NIC 8-24 (Mims 1-4, Bailey 1-1, Campbell 2-6, Johnson 1-4, King 1-4, Thomas 0-1, Karstetter 2-4), WW 11-30 (Kelly 4-9, Wright 2-3, Arland 3-7, Gillespie 0-2, Rose 2-7, Fraly 0-1, Hymas 0-1). Rebounds — NIC 31 (Bailey 7), WW 26 (Gillespie, Rose 8). Assists — NIC 15 (Campbell 4), WW 24 (Rose 10). Fouled out — none. Total fouls — NIC 8, WW 10. Technical fouls — NIC 1.

WOMEN

Walla Walla 71

North Idaho 58

WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Former Post Falls High star Dylan Lovett had 19 points, six rebounds and seven assists as the Warriors (18-6, 8-4 Northwest Athletic Conference) beat the Cardinals.

Addie Kiefer scored 11 points for NIC (13-11, 8-5), which slipped into fifth place in the East Region behind Wenatchee Valley (11-13, 8-5), with three league games remaining. The top four teams in each region advance to the NWAC tournament.

Wenatchee Valley, which has won two straight since forfeiting to NIC on Monday following some “coaching issues,” won at Blue Mountain on Saturday.

Paige Beem and Kaylee Banks each scored 10 points for NIC, which plays host to Community Colleges of Spokane (6-15, 6-8) on Wednesday.

NORTH IDAHO

Katie Blume 1-4 0-2 2, Laney Smith 2-4 0-0 6, Sorrel Aldendorf 3-7 0-0 7, Solei Elletson 2-4 0-0 6, Addie Kiefer 2-9 6-8 11, Paige Beem 1-8 8-11 10, Meghan Calley 1-1 1-1 3, Kaylee Banks 4-15 0-0 10, Cami Harris 1-6 0-0 3. Totals 17-58 15-22 58.

WALLA WALLA

Darbi Avery 0-2 1-2 1, Kylie Wood 3-10 9-10 16, Dylan Lovett 6-13 5-8 19, Paige Pentzer 2-6 1-2 5, McKenzie Long 7-18 2-4 19, Malia Cortes 1-3 0-2 3, Hollie Ziegler 2-4 1-2 6, Emma Leber 1-2 0-0 2, Samantha Chatfield 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-59 19-30 71.

North Idaho 15 13 18 12 — 58

Walla Walla 8 16 27 20 — 71

3-point goals — NIC 9-26 (Blume 0-3, Smith 2-2, Aldendorf 1-4, Elletson 2-2, Kiefer 1-1, Beem 0-1, Banks 2-8, Harris 1-5), WW 8-20 (Wood 1-2, Lovett 2-2, Long 3-10, Cortex 1-3, Ziegler 1-3). Rebounds — NIC 26 (Kiefer, Banks 5), WW 42 (Long 8). Assists — NIC 10 (Blume 4), WW 18 (Lovett 7). Fouled out — Aldendorf. Total fouls — NIC 25, WW 18. Technical fouls — NIC 1.