Cardinal men press past Colorado Northwestern

RANGELY, Colo. — After taking a few shots to start Scenic West Athletic Conference play, the North Idaho College men's basketball team wanted to land a shot of its own. 

Ne'quan Brown, a sophomore from Tacoma, Wash., scored a game-high 18 points for the Cardinals in an 81-55 win over the Colorado Northwestern Spartans on Saturday. 

"We wanted to come out and be more aggressive on both ends of the floor and get the game up and down the court," said NIC coach Corey Symons, who had three starters in double figures. "We did a good job of punching them in the mouth and being aggressive." 

Freshman Austin Ouko and sophomore Gage Ontiveros added 16 points each for NIC (11-7, 1-2 SWAC), which shot 29 of 55 and finished with 13 assists. 

"We moved the ball really well," said Symons, whose team was without sophomore Ajayi Simmons, who injured his wrist against Salt Lake on Thursday and did not play on Saturday. "We had some guys come off the bench and give us a spark. It was a good team win, which was something we needed." 

Trey Johnson scored 15 points for Colorado Northwestern (4-15, 0-4). 

NIC hosts Utah State-Eastern, which is ranked 23rd in this week's NJCAA poll, on Thursday. 

NORTH IDAHO 

Ne'quan Brown 7-12 1-2 18, Nyale Robinson 1-2 0-0 2, Austin Ouko 4- 8-9 16, Sawyr Hansen 2-5 5-8 9, Gage Ontiveros 8-11 0-0 16, Ace Arnold 2-3 0-0 6, Cody Wright 1-3 0-0 2, Cason Miller 2-4 0-0 5, Justus Haseley 1-3 2-2 5, Aly Toure 1-4 0-1 2. Totals 29-55 16-22 81. 

COLORADO NORTHWESTERN 

Gibson Walton 4-9 0-0 10, Carter Killian 3-14 2-2 8, Trey Johnson 5-10 2-4 15, Jaden Fitzhugh 2-4 2-2 6, Mayson Jeppsen 1-2 0-1 2, Jordan Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Brandon Avance 2-3 1-3 5, Lincoln Johnson 1-1 0-0 3, Finn Powelson 1-2 0-0 2, Jamison Thomson 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 21-51 7-11 55. 

Halftime — NIC 38-25. 3-point goals — NIC 7-11 (N. Brown 3-4, Robinson 0-1, Hansen 0-1, Arnold 2-2, Miller 1-1, Haseley 1-2), CNCC 6-11 (Walton 2-3, Killian 0-2, T. Johnson 3-5, L. Johnson 1-1). Rebounds — NIC 38 (N. Brown, Ouko 8), CNCC 20 (Killian 4). Assists — NIC 13 (Robinson 5), CNCC 9 (Jeppsen 3). Team fouls — NIC 15, CNCC 19. Fouled out — none. 

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