Preview of Southern Idaho at Colorado Northwestern

RANGELY, Colo. (Interstat) — A matchup of teams at opposite ends of the standings unfolds Thursday when the top-ranked Southern Idaho Eagles visit the struggling Colorado Northwestern Spartans in a men’s junior college basketball game.

Southern Idaho (19-2) enters on a dominant run, having won 10 of its last 11 games. The Eagles’ only loss in that stretch was a six-point road defeat to Snow College on Jan. 31. They are coming off an 85-69 victory over North Idaho on Saturday.

The Eagles are led by standout guard Cooper Kesler, who averages 20.1 points per game. He is fresh off a 27-point, 8-rebound performance against North Idaho and scored 21 points in just 35 minutes against these same Spartans in a 109-54 rout on Jan. 22.

Colorado Northwestern (3-19) has lost 12 consecutive games, including a 109-60 home defeat to Snow College in its last outing. The Spartans have struggled on both ends of the floor, allowing an average of 87.2 points per game during their losing skid.

Guard Jamison Thomson is a player to watch for the Spartans. He scored 13 points with six rebounds in the Jan. 22 meeting with Southern Idaho and had a season-high 21 points against North Idaho on Jan. 24.

The recent history between these teams is decisively one-sided. Southern Idaho has won the last two meetings by an average margin of 54.5 points, including a 94-50 victory in Rangely on Jan. 8.

Despite the stark contrast in records, Interstat’s game simulator projects a highly unusual final score of 100-100, suggesting a potential for an offensive shootout.

Southern Idaho will look to maintain its momentum before a key road game at Salt Lake on Saturday. Colorado Northwestern seeks to end its lengthy slide before hosting North Idaho this weekend.

Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. MST at Hefley Gymnasium.