NWAC Tournament: North Idaho advances to title game; CC Spokane bows out

EVERETT – Nate Pryor and RayQuan Evans posted double-doubles and the top-seeded North Idaho Cardinals held off the Lane Titans 85-78 in a Northwest Conference Tournament men’s basketball semifinal Saturday at Everett Community College.

Pryor scored a game-high 27 points and handed out 11 assists for the Cardinals (30-2). Evans pitched in with 18 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Emmitt Taylor sank two of NIC’s four 3-pointers.

North Idaho dominated the boards 45-31 and finished with just seven turnovers. The Cardinals trailed 41-40 at halftime.

Tarik Cool topped Lane with 24 points. The Titans (27-4) hit only 11 of 38 tries from beyond the arc (29 percent).

North Idaho plays Walla Walla on Sunday for the championship.

Walla Walla 76, CC Spokane 65: Damen Thacker hit five 3-pointers, scoring a game-high 33 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, powering the Warriors (22-10) over the Sasquatch (22-10) and into a spot in the title game.

Thacker sank 10 of 21 shots from the floor, including 5 of 13 from behind the 3-point line. He also sank 8 of 9 free throws and handed out four assists.

David Howard pitched in with 15 points and Jake Albright had 10 rebounds to go with seven points for Walla Walla.

Garrett White topped CC Spokane with 16 points and added nine boards.

Dedrick Pakootas scored 15 points, but hit just 2 of 6 from beyond the arc as the Sasquatch shot 26 percent from distance. Isaiah Gotell added 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Warriors led by just two points at halftime before outscoring the Sasquatch 42-33 after intermission.