First impressions are pretty important. Two good ones were made Tuesday night.

Twin Falls made a solid impression on this year's College of Southern Idaho men's and women's basketball players. And from the cheers and hollers of the crowd throughout Tuesday's CSI Basketball Bash, it appears the players returned the favor.

"I've never had a turnout like this for anything," said men's point guard Jamelle Barrett. "So just to have it for 'Meet the team night' is great. I loved it. It was crazy."

So were some of Barrett's passes. The freshman from Las Vegas wowed spectators during the men's 10-minute intrasquad scrimmage, which often resembled a dunk contest. Barrett hooked up with sophomore forward Jay Watkins on two alley-oop dunks and found freshman guard Carrick Felix on another perfectly placed lob, all in the opening minutes.

"I knew if I got it up to J-Wat he was going to go get it, no matter who (else) was there," said Barrett.

Of course, the men weren't the only ones to impress.

Transfer Martina Holloway, a 5-6 point guard from Albuquerque, N.M., had a number of sweet assists during the women's scrimmage. The sophomore said she "fell in love right away" with CSI after seeing the crowd reaction at last year's home game against Salt Lake Community College.

"I love basketball. I have a lot of fun with this team," said Holloway. "I like being the pass-first, shoot-second point guard."

Even when she settles for that second option, things should turn out nicely for the CSI women this season. Holloway knocked down 18 treys in 60 seconds during the 3-point contest, giving the women a big early lead.

Freshman Cheyne Martin got the men back in front in the contest by sinking 17 shots in his round, and Quinton Watkins sank 15 more as the men rallied to make 41 compared to the women's 32.

The women claimed the event at last year's Bash, making Tuesday's win that much sweeter for the men.

The night also saw solid performances from returning women's post players Maddy Plunkett and Soana Lucet, who each led their respective team's offensive showings in the scrimmage.

"We have a really good team this year," said Plunkett. "We should dominate, and it'll be a good season."

The women's scrimmage ended with freshman guard Kiara Tate knocking down a 3-pointer to give the Black team a 27-24 win.

As for the men, Quinton Watkins displayed some solid shooting in the second half, lifting the Black to a 32-23 win. The Gold squad was shorthanded as 6-8 sophomore forward Daequon Montreal sat out the evening's festivities after injuring his foot in Tuesday's practice. Men's head coach Steve Gosar said Montreal tore a ligament in his foot when he landed on a teammate's shoe. He'll be out at least a week before returning to practice.

The best moment of the Bash came in the finale: The slam dunk contest. Although he stands only 6-foot, freshman Charles Odum drew the biggest crowd reaction of the night. He concluded his one-minute first round by racing from midcourt and jumping over the heads of three teammates.

While he lost to Jay Watkins in the finale, he certainly had the best single dunk of the night, even though he was quick to shun the spotlight.

"Tonight was not about trying to be cool," said Odum.

For Jay Watkins, who sat out the last half of the 2007-08 season after transferring from the University of San Francisco, it was just nice to be out there again.

"It's been a while since I've been on the court in front of a crowd," he said.

"It was just fun to get out there and run with the guys and give the fans a taste of what's coming up this year." And that first taste was pretty good.

Mike Christensen may be reached at 208-735-3239 or sports@magicvalley.com.