Guess what? Christian Guess and NIC blow out Walla Walla

NIC men’s basketball appeared to have little difficulty defeating Walla Walla in their 115-87 romp Saturday afternoon.

Emmitt Taylor III drives in for a layup in the second half. Taylor III is known for his three point shot, but he sank five shots inside the arc which is two more than his previous season high.

Second-ranked NIC proved to be too much to handle for Walla Walla (4-7, 10-13) as the Cards jumped out to a quick 12-0 lead, and once again led from start to finish.

The Cards defense forced 11 turnovers and held Walla Walla to just 38 percent from the field, far below their season average of 47 percent.

Christian Guess led the way offensively for the Cards and tied his season high with 35 points, while also coming up with 10 rebounds. Emmitt Taylor III scored 19 points with 11 rebounds, and Jaden Dewar also had double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

NIC also won their previous match-up 104-95, and Walla Walla was one of just two conference opponents to keep the final score within double-digits.

The Cards play three straight road games starting with Wenatchee Valley (8-3, 20-4) on Feb. 12, Blue Mountain (1-10, 5-19) on Feb. 15 and Spokane (11-1, 21-4) on Feb. 19 before returning home to play Yakima Valley (5-7, 8-15) on Saturday Feb. 22 at 4 p.m.