4 things to watch: CSI basketball continues SWAC play at Salt Lake CC

The Golden Eagles have two more games away from home this week, starting Thursday at their biggest rival, Salt Lake Community College.

The No. 11 CSI women (17-3 overall, 5-0 Scenic West Athletic Conference) and No. 18 Salt Lake women (15-4 overall, 4-1 SWAC) will play at 5 p.m. The No. 22 CSI men (16-4 overall, 4-1 SWAC) and No. 24 Salt Lake men (15-5 overall, 3-2 SWAC) will play at 7 p.m.

The CSI women will look to put another game between themselves and the rest of the SWAC, while the CSI men will look to stay within striking distance of No. 1 Snow College in the SWAC standings.

CSI swept the first game between the two teams on Jan. 8 as CSI women won 61-58 and CSI men triumphed 79-71 in overtime.

Here are four more things to watch (two for women and two for men) for Thursday’s games.

Gillette getting goingCSI women’s sophomore guard Kennedy Gillette has been the only player to score in double figures in each game during CSI’s seven-game winning streak.

A Rexburg native, Gillette averaged 15.3 points per game while shooting 52.8% from the field and 43.8% on 3-pointers. All three of those marks are above her season averages. Gillette has seen more time on the court in SWAC play as well, registering at least 31 minutes in four of five conference games.

Gillette’s worst game in this stretch came against Salt Lake on Jan. 8. She scored just 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting and hit just one of five 3-point attempts. In a 70-64 loss at Salt Lake a season ago, Gillette scored just three points in six minutes of action.

Another “rock fight?”CSI women’s head coach Randy Rogers knew what his team needed to do in the first meeting. Slow things down to neutralize Salt Lake’s speed and grind out possessions. A strategy that helped the Golden Eagles to a narrow win despite shooting 33% from the field and a rebound deficit of six. CSI forced 25 turnovers, well above the Bruins’ season average of 17.4.

“I like rock fights,” Rogers told the Times-News after the win.

Can the strategy work again in Salt Lake?

The Bruins are 5-0 at home this year, with all five wins with at least an 11-point margin. Every win hasn’t been a high scoring affair, ranging from a 93-61 win over Central Wyoming College on Dec. 5 to a 51-40 win over Utah State University Eastern on Jan. 4.

Salt Lake shot the ball better in all five home games than it did in its loss at CSI with at least a 39.6% clip from the field in all five games.

CSI men look for road bouncebackSaturday’s 110-82 loss at Snow College marked the Golden Eagles’ worst since a 92-65 loss to Harcum College in the opening round of the 2022 NJCAA Division I National Tournament.

CSI allowed 100 points for the first time since a 105-103 win over Casper College on Nov. 10, 2018.

It doesn’t get much easier Thursday. CSI is just 1-5 in road games against ranked opponents over the past two seasons, including two losses at Salt Lake a season ago.

In the Golden Eagles win over the Bruins on Jan. 8, CSI led for just four minutes and 48 seconds in regulation before it rallied from an eight-point deficit with 4:35 left and forced overtime in an eventual win.

Big man boost?CSI has rarely been at full strength this season.

Redshirt sophomore Walker Timme, redshirt freshman Gerry Guerrero and freshmen Amarco Doyle and Jalen Lyn all missed games because of injuries but are now healthy.

Freshman Cooper Kesler is out for the season and sophomore Isaac Hawkins remains out with a broken thumb. The Golden Eagles could get some much-needed inside depth if 6-foot-9 sophomore Brandon Oloumou is able to return from a fractured kneecap. Head coach Jeff Reinert told the Times-News earlier this month that Oloumou was projected to return Wednesday.

With Hawkins and Oloumou out, CSI has been incredibly thin inside. Timme is the only low-post player with a sizable role in recent weeks. Oloumou averaged 4.8 points with 4.6 rebounds in 9.6 minutes per game across nine games this season, but could give the Golden Eagles some needed athleticism down low.

He turned heads after attending several showcases this summer. He received offers from NCAA Division I schools Norfolk State, Northern Illinois and Cal State Northridge before the start of the season.