Men’s basketball breezes past Columbia Basin in final game of the season

NIC men’s basketball easily handled Columbia Basin in their 102-82 victory Wednesday night.

Nate Pryor makes a layup late in the second half. The star sophomore averaged 18 points per game in his career on 53 percent shooting. Pryor and other sophomores won a ridiculous 59 games for NIC while only losing three games in two years.

The Cards played their final game of the season despite putting up a league-best 16-0, 28-1 record because of sanctions that make them ineligible from postseason play. 

NIC started the game with a quick 10-2 lead in under three minutes, but played a back and forth game until around halfway through the first half. The Cards led by as much as 12 points and turned a 16-16 tie into 46-37 lead by halftime.

NIC then continued to play their usual brand of basketball that led them to win 17 games this season by at least 20 points. They finished with nine steals, five blocks and shot 52 percent from the field.

The lineup saw a rare change in honor of sophomore night, and saw sophomores Tyler Tanner and Jaden Dewar start as opposed to their usual reserve roles. Tanner finished with five points and three assists, while Dewar had a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Star sophomore Nate Pryor led the team with 21 points while James Carlson added 12 points and Christian Guess had 11.

The night also saw the return of sophomore Joey Naccarato, who missed the last five games because of a foot injury. Naccarato put up 13 points and came down with seven rebounds.

NIC will lose 11 players to graduation, and of the freshman on the roster, Terrance Marigney is the only one with meaningful playing time and averages 1.9 points per game.