“And now that is what it feels like to be a family,” said Gibson Johnson as he held his teammates after picking off the No. 3 and undefeated North Idaho Cardinals 86-73 to win the Region 18 Championship.
YOUR 2016 REGION 18 CHAMPIONS!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/RjEayhoDWA
— SLCC Athletics (@BruinAthletics) February 28, 2016
Tyler Rawson led the Bruins recording a double-double with a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds. Conner Toolson went 5-6 from behind the arc finishing with 21 points and five rebounds. Gibson Johnson was excellent in the paint posting 13 points and five rebounds. Tad Dufelmeier added 12 points and seven assists to round out top scorers.
Salt Lake came out strong with a Toolson three to start the game. They continued to push with their defense forcing the Cardinals to miss seven shots in the first seven minutes of the game to give SLCC a 12 point lead. NIC rallied back and was able to take the lead from the Bruins to go into half up by one 38-37. Rawson had already reached double-figures in the first half.
After half the game went back and fourth for the first few minutes seeing the scored tied for the fourth time at 44 all with 17:35 left in the ball game. Two made free throws by Toolson pushed the Bruins ahead and they would control the rest of the game. Salt Lake was able to extend their lead to by as many as 13 points in the second.
As a team, the Bruins shot 49 percent from the field and 42 percent from behind the arc. The major difference in the game was on the defensive side. Salt Lake was able to successfully play man coverage and force the Cardinals to take risky shots. NIC finished shooting 38 percent from the field and 24 percent from the three.
Salt Lake will face the winner of the Eastern Arizona and Cochise match-up in the District Tournament. The game will be held inside of Bruin Arena Saturday, March 5 at 7 p.m.
MBB: The final 86-73, SLCC over #3 and undefeated North Idaho! #roadtohutch pic.twitter.com/vJuLDgJXDv
— SLCC Athletics (@BruinAthletics) February 28, 2016
All-Tournament Team
Tyler Rawson was named the tournament MVP. Rawson posted an overall 47 points and 25 rebounds over the three games the Bruins played. He posted a double-double in two of the games he was featured in, including a game-high 22 points against North Idaho and a game-high 15 rebounds against Southern Idaho.
Conner Toolson and Bushmen Ebet were named to the All-Tournament team. Toolson tallied an incredible 50 points during his first Region 18 Tournament. He shot 63 percent from the field during the three games. Freshman, Ebet recorded 34 points during the tournament. His best game was against CNCC in the first rounded were he ended the night with 17 points.
