Indians drop opening-round game to No. 22 N. Idaho

TWIN FALLS, Idaho – The McCook Community College men's basketball team lost their opening-round game Thursday in the Battle for the Boot tournament to No. 22 Northern Idaho 96-49. This tournament is being hosted by College of Southern Idaho.

The Cardinals scored 11 of the game's first 12 points in the first 3:41 of the game, but the Indians went on an 8-3 run to cut the deficit to 14-9 at the 14:04 mark on a 3-pointer by sophomore Justin Rushin (Charlotte, N.C.). A layup by sophomore Isayah Pankey, (Dallas, Texas) made it a 16-13 game at the 12:06 mark of the first half and MCC inched closer with a made-free throw at the 11:20 mark to trail 16-14.

"We came out and did a good job executing against their man defense and then they went zone and we struggled to execute and get good looks," said MCC Coach Taylor Shaffer.

Northern Idaho stretched the lead to 22-16 with 8:30 left in the half; took a 26-17 lead at the 6:07 mark, went up 28-18 at the 5:01 mark and outscored the Indians 18-6 over the final five minutes to lead at halftime, 43-24.

"As we struggled to execute against the zone, they got out in transition and it got away from us," said Taylor.

The Cardinals led 52-30 after the first five minutes of the second half and went up 57-35 with 11:56 left in the game before racing to 39-14 advantage over the remainder of the game.

"In the second half, we made the decision to pull our top guys and save their legs as it became clear that the game had gotten away from us and then things really fell apart," said Shaffer.

Northern Idaho shot 50 percent from the field, made just two of 19 shots from the 3-point line (10.5 percent) and made 26 of 35 free throws (72.2 percent). The Cardinals had a 56-41 rebound edge, and a 58-14 advantage in the paint.

MCC shot 23.2 percent from the field, made seven of 35 shots from distance (20 percent), and made 10 of 21 free throws (47.6 percent.) The Indians turned the ball over 23 times.

Pankey led MCC with nine points, Rushin had eight. Redshirt sophomore Lenny Smith (Washington, D.C.), entered the game with 13 minutes left and scored nine points, making two of six 3-pointers. Freshman Jack Fitzpatrick (Hudson, N.J.) scored six points off the bench.

Northern Idaho (2-0) will play the winner of the late game between Eastern Florida State (3-2) and Western Wyoming (0-2).

MCC will meet the losers of that game in the consolation round Friday with times to be announced.

On Saturday, the bracket features games for seventh place, the consolation championship, the third-place game and the tournament championship game.

In the top half of the bracket, in the opening game of the tournament Thursday No. 4 College of Southern Idaho (3-0) took advantage of the home court to trounce Western Nebraska 89-56. The Golden Eagles move on to face Casper College in the first semi-finals Friday at 6 p.m. The T-Birds downed Clarendon (Texas) 106-93. Western Nebraska (3-2) will play Clarendon College (1-4) in a consolation semifinal at 11 a.m. Friday.

BATTLE FOR THE BOOT
College of Southern Idaho
Twin Falls, Idaho

Thursday Results
     Game 1 – No. 4 College of Southern Idaho 89, Western Nebraska 56.
     Game 2 – Casper College 106, Clarendon College 93
     Game 3 – No. 19 North Idaho 96, McCook CC 49
     Game 4 – Eastern Florida State (3-2) vs. Western Wyoming (0-2), late game.

Friday Schedule (All times CST)
Game 5 – Western Nebraska (3-2) vs. Clarendon College (1-4), 11 a.m.
Game 6 – McCook CC (1-5) Game 3 loser, TBA
Game 7 – No. 4 College of Southern Idaho (3-0) vs. Casper College (2-2), 6 p.m.
Game 8 – No. 19 North Idaho (2-0) vs. Game 4 winner, TBA

Saturday Schedule (All times CST)
Game 9 (Seventh Place) – Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser, TBA
Game 10 (Consolation Champs) – Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, TBA
Game 11 (Third Place) – Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser, TBA
Game 12 (Championship Game) – Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, TBA