NIC BASKETBALL: Cardinals battle, but can't overcome Snow

• MEN

EPHRAIM, Utah — It’s crowded at the top of the Scenic West Athletic Conference standings. 

But it’s a lot more congested in the middle. 

Austin Ouko, a freshman from Wasatch Academy in Utah, had a game-high 23 points for the Cardinals, who fell to the second-ranked (NJCAA) Badgers 80-72 in a Scenic West Athletic Conference game at the Horne Activity Center on Thursday. 

Snow is 21-1, 6-1. 

NIC (13-10, 3-5 SWAC) is tied with Salt Lake (9-12, 3-5) for the fourth and final playoff spot. The Cardinals trail Utah State-Eastern (16-6, 3-4), which lost 78-74 to College of Southern Idaho on Thursday in Price, Utah, by a half-game for third. 

NIC visits Utah State-Eastern Saturday.

“We’re just having a tough time getting over the hump,” NIC coach Corey Symons said. “We didn’t hit a basket in the last few minutes and they hit some big shots. They’re good and when you make a mistake, they make you pay. I’m proud of our guys. They played their tails off.” 

Justus Haseley, a freshman from Toronto, Ontario, hit a 3-pointer to give the Cardinals a 64-63 lead with 9:32 remaining. Sean Felts scored on a layup 27 seconds later to give Snow a 66-65 lead. NIC went scoreless over four minutes and the Badgers went on an 8-0 run. 

McCaden Adams scored 21 points for Snow, which beat NIC 106-82 on Jan. 17 in Coeur d’Alene. 

NORTH IDAHO 

Austin Ouko 7-13 5-6 23, Aly Toure 2-4 0-0 4, Nyale Robinson 6-12 0-0 14, Ne’quan Brown 4-11 0-0 10, Cody Wright 4-8 2-2 11, Vander Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Ace Arnold 0-2 0-0 0, Ajayi Simmons 1-3 1-2 3, Cason Miller 0-1 0-0 0, Sawyr Hansen 0-0 0-0 0, Gage Ontiveros 0-2 0-0 0, Justus Haseley 2-4 0-0 6, Jacori Ervin 0-3 1-2 1. Totals 26-63 9-12 72. 

SNOW 

Kyle Lemke 0-2 0-0 0, Bron Roberts 2-5 1-1 6, Blake Bahr 3-10 0-0 7, McCaden Adams 7-14 4-6 21, Max Toombs 3-5 0-0 8, Sam Sivulich 4-12 0-0 9, Sean Felts 4-12 5-7 15, Brock McClure 5-9 2-4 12, Aaron Bliss 1-3 0-0 2, James Rust 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-73 12-18 80. 

Halftime — Snow 36-34. 3-point goals — NIC 11-28 (Ouko 4-9, Robinson 2-7, N. Brown 2-4, Wright 1-2, Arnold 0-2, Simmons 0-1, Haseley 2-3), Snow 10-29 (Roberts 1-4, Bahr 1-2, Adams 3-6, Toombs 2-4, Sivulich 1-6, Felts 2-4, McClure 0-3). Rebounds — NIC 42 (Toure 12), Snow 46 (McClure 9). Assists — NIC 17 (N. Brown 6), Snow 17 (Bahr 8). Team fouls — NIC 15, Snow 12. Fouled out — none. 

• WOMEN

Snow 82 

North Idaho 59 

EPHRAIM, Utah — The Cardinals maintained a half-game lead for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Scenic West Athletic Conference despite the loss, but the road to the Region 18 Tournament is going to get a lot tougher. 

Snow, which trails NIC for fourth, rallied from a 22-16 first quarter deficit to beat the Cardinals at the Horne Activity Center. 

“We just struggled today to be consistent,” said NIC coach Nathan Covill, who was without two players, including starting guard Ripeka Edwards, who suffered a concussion in Saturday’s game against Colorado Northwestern. “We started off well and got someone in foul trouble, which isn’t good when you only travel seven players.” 

Summer Faleafa, a sophomore from Auckland, New Zealand, had a season-high 25 points and added four rebounds for the Cardinals, who had 27 turnovers. 

North Idaho travels to Utah State-Eastern on Saturday. 

Freshman Lala Baldwin scored a game-high 29 points for Snow (14-8, 2-5). 

NORTH IDAHO 

Diana Nelson 1-2 1-2 3, Summer Faleafa 7-11 6-10 25, Karsyn Freeman 8-17 2-2 18, Chloe Collin 3-9 2-2 8, Sari Murphy 0-3 0-0 0, Molly Axell 0-2 2-2 2, Kaytie Aanstad 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 20-47 14-20 59. 

SNOW 

Sydnee Smith 4-9 0-0 8, Sara Aoki 2-4 1-2 6, Lala Baldwin 12-19 0-0 29, Avery Allred 1-4 1-1 3, Hillary Akomatsri 5-6 6-6 16, Katie King 0-1 0-0 0, Dalana Jakovljevic 4-7 0-0 8, Seini Tuipulotu 0-4 0-0 0, Hartlynn Richins 2-2 0-0 4, June Olsen 1-1 0-0 2, Kysa Shippen 3-4 0-0 6, Mckena Garner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-61 8-9 82. 

North Idaho    22    11    8    18    —    59 

Snow        16    24    14    28    —    82 

3-point goals — NIC 5-12 (Faleafa 5-7, Freeman 0-3, Collin 0-1, Axell 0-1), Snow 6-12 (Smith 0-1, Aoki 1-1, Baldwin 5-7, Allred 0-1, Akomatsri 0-1, King 0-1). Rebounds — NIC 31 (Aanstad 7), Snow 26 (Smith 7). Assists — NIC 10 (Collin 6), Snow 25 (Akomatsri 6). Team fouls — NIC 12, Snow 17. Fouled out — none.