Box Score SLCC Men's Basketball Tops North Idaho College at Region 18 Championships
Bruins to play for Region 18 Championship on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
|
(Seed) – Team |
1 |
2 |
Final |
|
(#3) NIC |
24 |
48 |
72 |
|
(#2) SLCC |
38 |
51 |
89 |
Ephraim, UT—The
No. 2-seeded SLCC Men's Basketball team (25-6) defeated
No. 3 seed North Idaho College (NIC) (21-11)
89-72 on Friday in the semifinal round of the Region 18 Basketball Championships hosted by Snow College.
SLCC led by 14 points at the half and shot 46.2 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes of play. Bruin sophomore guard
Gary Payton II (Las Vegas, NV) led all scorers at the half with 10 points. SLCC led by as many as 21 points in the second half but NIC rallied to close the gap to 12. The Cardinals doubled their scoring output from the first half in the second 20 minutes of play, but could not mount a comeback effort.
The Bruins shot 47.6 percent from the field and made six of 22 three point attempts. NIC finished at 39.4 percent shooting and was 6-for-25 from beyond the arc. SLCC was 23-for-30 from the free throw line with the Cardinals making 14 of 15 from the foul line.
Stats vs. NIC: Bruin freshman forward
Neal Monson (Sandy, UT) led all scorers with 21 points and had five rebounds. The University of Utah transfer was 7-for-11 from the field and 7-for-10 from the free throw line.
Payton II finished with 14 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists. Sophomore guard
Jaden Jackson (Salt Lake City, UT) added 13 points and two assists and freshman guard
De'Sean Parsons (Sacramento, CA) tallied 11 points and completed a double-double with 11 rebounds.
Sophomore forward
Kurtis Toolson (Gilbert, AZ) turned in 10 points and nine rebounds in the winning effort.
Head Coach
Todd Phillips and the Bruins will face the winner of the late game featuring No. 1 seed Southern Idaho and No. 4 seed USU-Eastern on Saturday, Mar. 1 in the Region 18 Championship Game with tipoff slated for 7:30 p.m. in Ephraim, UT. A win for SLCC would earn the Bruins a berth in the District I Playoff with an automatic bid to the NJCAA National Tournament at stake.
Game Coverage: Live coverage of the Region 18 Championship Game between SLCC and *team* will be available via the Snow College YouTube Web stream at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQCUTYW1eQM. The broadcast will begin 10 minutes prior to tipoff.
For more on the Region 18 Basketball Championships, go to:
www.scenicwestsports.com.
