It wasn't love at first sight. Far from it.

"He didn't even like me, and I didn't like him either because he was always looking at me funny," Shauneice Samms said of her early encounters with Chuck Odum. "We wanted to punch each other."

But the relationship that developed over the past year has been a blessing on and off the court for the two CSI sophomores.

Samms was a freshman All-American for the CSI women's basketball team last year, while Odum plays point guard for the Golden Eagle men.

Far from their homes in Tacoma, Wash., and Lakewood, Calif., respectively, they have anchored one another during their time in Twin Falls.

"It's really nice to always have someone to talk to and be there for you," said Samms. "Especially being away from home, you need that."

Said Odum: "We both come to the gym and shoot together. She pushes me, I push her. Sometimes if she's being lazy I tell her 'Hey, pick it up.' If I'm being lazy she'll tell me 'Charles, you're out there looking like garbage.'

"We don't lie to each other. She's honest with me, I'm honest with her. It's good."

One day of hanging out last fall changed their relationship forever. As Samms put it, "We were friends after that and became really close."

It's a bond readily visible to others. Men's head coach Steve Gosar said the pair seems like a couple that's "dated for one year, been married for 10."

When they finish their time at CSI next spring, the couple hopes to transfer to the same four-year school, preferably someplace warm if Samms gets her way.

"They are funny," said Gosar. "They really mesh well. Great chemistry."