Here’s an update of how NIC teams did over winter break.
Wrestlers ranked #3 in the nation
The NIC Wrestling team improved to 7-2 with two wins over Northwest College 28-13 and Southwest Oregon CC 35-17.
Bryce Weatherson pinned his SOCC opponent. Cruz Del Angel, Johnathen Dennis, and Taylor Kornely recorded wins by default. Tyler Booth, Tyler McLean, and Dajour Reece recorded wins for the Cards
Michael Nguyen, Weatherston, McLean, Reece, Del Angel, Dennis and Kornely won their matches agains Northwest College
NIC dropped their last dual to #1 ranked Clackamas College 31-12.
Jordan Cooks recorded the only Cardinal pin. Teammates Nguyen and Kornoely also won their match.
Call the Men’s Basketball team butter, because were on a roll
NIC Mens Basketball on a three game win streak to begin conference play. They are in second place behind rival College of Southern Idaho. The Cardinals will play the next 11 games against conference opponents. Luckily for the Cardinals and the Sixth Man, seven of the games will be at home.
The Cardinals won the 2014 Bigfoot Classic tournament. This is back-to-back tournament titles for the Cards. It was held in Spokane back in the beginning of December.
Jordan King was awarded Bigfoot Classic MVP and Djuan Piper received AllTournament honors
NIC faced Spokane CC in the title game. NIC won 8480 after leading by 16 at half.
In the semifinals, NIC slipped by Big Bend CC 7466. The Cardinals shot only 33 percent from the field.
Head Coach Corey Symons said, “This was our worst shooting performance of the year and we still found a way to beat a really good team.”
In the first round NIC defeated Everett CC 10684. Rainier Beach High School recruits King and Piper combined for 53 points.
After the tourney, the Cardinals then lost for the second time this season to rival College of Southern Idaho.
The Cardinals have won three strait to divisional opponents Colorado Northwestern, Utah State University – Eastern, and Medicine Hat College.
Colorado Northwestern fell to the Cardinals 8166.
“We need to stay focused and ready to play a tough USU Eastern team,” said Symons.
That they did. NIC won 7370. They struggled from beyond the arc, 16 percent. They lead the league in this category with 41 percent. Kyle Guice made up for the poor shooting with 12 rebounds in the first half.
Medicine Hat College scored only 51 points in their game at Christianson Gymnasium. NIC scored 73 in their second game of a three game home stand.
The third home game against Blue Mountain CC was canceled after being rescheduled. The Timberwolves’s trip to Coeur d’Alene was cancelled due to poor road conditions.
Lady Cards fight
The Lady Cards recorded six wins and only three losses since the beginning of break. They now take on an eight game home stand.
They traveled to Utah over the weekend and fell to Salt Lake CC 73-47, but defeated Snow College 76-74
Kara Staggs who is fighting through an injury scored half of the team’s points with 24 against Salt Lake CC.
The Lady Cards started the new year with two wins against Trinity Western College; 80-72 and 91-64. Kara Staggs went off in the first game and scored 35 points. In the decisive second game in which NIC forced 22 turnovers, the Cards took a balanced attack. Six players scored in double figures.
The Lady Cards failed to defend their title at the Lower Columbia Holiday Classic. However they were runner-ups. Mariah Swanson was placed on the All-Tournament team. She averaged a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
NIC defeated Whatcom CC and Centralia College in the first and second round. They qualified for the final to defend their title. Originally conference foe Snow College qualified in the title match but did not want to play, thus Umpqua CC qualified. NIC fell to Umpqua 75-71.
