Cardinals’ bench provides spark

The North Idaho College men’s basketball team scored 64 points off the bench to hand Colorado Northwestern Community College a 96-60 loss Jan. 16 at Rolly Williams Court.

“Everybody has a good top five, but I think as we get into the bench, which means that we’re in good shape there, because our bench is probably just as good as our starters,” NIC head coach Jared Phay said.

Jordon King came off the bench to lead the Cardinals with 18 points and contributed seven rebounds. Brad Wallace, another bench player, scored 14 points to go along with a game-high five steals and Shikei Blake had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

“I think playing defense really got me in rhythm, just getting easy buckets and seeing the ball go through the hoop,” Wallace said.

NIC shot 54.4 percent from the floor and 47.1 percent from 3-point range. The Spartans shot 36.4 percent from the field and 30 percent from behind the 3-point arc.

“Defensively, our effort was really good tonight,” Phay said.

Terrylee Wedegeworth paced the Spartans with 17 points and five assists.

The Cardinals led 44-23 at halftime and didn’t let up, scoring 52 points in the second half, which almost matched the Spartans’ point-total (60) for the game. NIC led 80-32 at one point in the second half.

NIC had lost its previous two Scenic West Athletic Conference home games going into the game against Colorado Northwestern.

“It was very important (to win), especially in this league, because any loss that we have pushes us back a little bit,” Wallace said. “We had a two game losing streak so I think getting us this win gave us a lot of confidence. It was good to get back in the win column again.”

Phay agreed.

“It was a must win…Every one (game) matters now,” he said.