CSI men’s basketball preparing for end-of-season stretch

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The No. 20 CSI men’s basketball team feels they’re in a good position in the season’s final stretch.

CSI (19-5, 7-2 SWAC) split the two games last weekend. On Thursday, it lost to No. 1 Snow College 93-89 before exploding for a 94-61 win over Utah State University Eastern on Saturday.

“We played well in both games. Against Snow, we had a chance to win at the end but just didn’t go our way,” head coach Jeff Reinert explained. “Our guard play has been great with Dale Griffin getting the start along with Khayri (Dunn), Jalen (Lyn), and Gerry (Guerrero) all playing big roles.”

Griffin started the two games after his strong performance in practice.

Griffen scored a season-high 20 points in the loss to Snow and 17 in the win against USU Eastern. Across the two games, he shot a combined 76 percent from the field and 70 percent from beyond the arc.

The Golden Eagles will be without sophomore center Brandon Oloumou for the rest of the season after a leg injury against Snow College.

“We’re using everything in the tank to get where we have to go,” Reinert said “We need to pray for no more injuries.”

The Golden Eagles have been banged up throughout the season, with Sophomore Cooper Kesler also being sidelined for the season with an injury.

Sophomore forward Issac Hawkins (wrist) plans to return in a few games to give CSI a much-needed boost.

With the loss to Snow, it’s unlikely CSI will host the Region 18 Tournament.

The Golden Eagles now turn their attention to Saturday, when they will face North Idaho College (13-11, 3-6 SWAC) in an in-state rivalry.

CSI won at home against the Cardinals on Jan 4. 75-74.

Vaughn Weems, the nation’s leading scorer, averaging around 28 points per game, will look to cause havoc against CSI.

Reinert will have his team focused on the surrounding cast around Weems.

“They (North Idaho) got some other guys that shoot it really well that we have to be conscious of,” Reinert told KMVT. “Ball security is always big as we go up there and rebounding. We have a lot of things we need to work on this week to get where we’re comfortable and confident heading into that game.”

Tip-off for round two in Coeur d’Alene is set for Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

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