Men’s Basketball dominates Columbia Basin

The number-one-ranked Cardinals (17-2, 6-0) continued their obliteration of the NWAC with a commanding 124-50 win over Columbia Basin (4-14, 1-5) Monday evening.

The Cards jumped out to a 31-4 lead seven minutes in, and the game never seemed like much of a contest from the start.

Emmitt Taylor III led the way offensively for Cards scoring 24 points on 8-13 shooting from beyond the arc.

Alphonso Anderson throws down a dunk in the second half of NIC’s 124-50 win over Columbia Basin.

“(Taylor III) just found open space. They set in the zone early, and he was able to find gaps and slide over,” Assistant coach George Swanson said. “Our guards are pretty good; they get in the lane, they create problems and they draw help, and he was just able to find the open space.”

Taylor III was among the six NIC players to score double-digit points on the night along with RayQuan Evans, Nate Pryor, Phillip Malatare, Alphonso Anderson and Jarod Greene.

NIC will travel to play fourth-ranked Spokane (15-5, 6-1) on Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in a battle for the top spot in the East region before returning home to play Yakima Valley on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 4:00 p.m.