BOISE, Idaho – Lewis-Clark State College men's basketball coach Brandon Rinta doesn't expect his team to have many shooting nights like it did Friday night.
 
Hitting less than 30 percent from the field, including the 3-point line, the Warriors watched Boise State put together a big run in the second half to break away and claim an 85-53 exhibition victory at BSU's Taco Bell Arena.
 
The contest between the NAIA Warriors and the NCAA Division I Broncos saw the Warriors only trail by nine at halftime after a close first half. But after the Broncos ended the first half on a 7-2 run, they used a 24-6 run to start the second half to pull away.
 
"We let their two best 3-point shooters get loose in the first half and they knocked down five 3s," Rinta said. "And we were 3-of-18 (on 3-pointers) in the first half."
 
LCSC, which remains 2-0 on the season, went toe-to-toe with the Broncos for the first 17 minutes of the contest. BSU, which was making its season debut, grabbed a 13-7 lead, but LCSC answered with the next six points to tie it. Derrick White had four of the six points while Anthony Sullen added a bucket.
 
BSU regained the lead and had a 22-20 advantage when guard Nick Duncan, a thorn in LCSC's side all night, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Broncos ahead 28-20.
 
Again, LCSC fought back and a dunk by Sullen cut the BSU lead to 29-25 with 2:54 left in the first half.
 
Duncan, however, hit another 3-pointer and sparked a 7-2 run to end the first half. That gave the Broncos a 36-27 advantage at halftime.
 
"Even with that I thought we competed well out of the gate," Rinta said. "We were taking care of the basketball and actually turning them over, and we were keeping them off the glass, at least keeping them off the offensive glass. It was a pretty solid first half despite not knocking down shots.
 
"But then we got a little loose offensive and defensively, and had a few breakdowns. That's all they needed. Once they got a little confidence, we were immediately playing a different team."
 
BSU didn't waste any time in the second half to take control of the contest. Both Austin Paris and Zach Haney scored four points apiece to help the Broncos start the final 20 minutes on an 8-0 run. The Broncos then finished their 24-6 run with nine straight points for a 60-33 lead with 11:39 remaining.

"It's still early in the year but we are not where we need to be," Rinta said. "But I feel we took a step in the right direction with our execution, both offensively and defensively. And rebounding wise. That's going to be keys for us, those two areas, executing and rebounding. Even though it didn't end well with the final score, we still competed and had some positives to draw out of the first half."
 
Sullen led the Warriors with 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field, while Doug McDaniel added 13 points, three steals and two assists. Zavon Jackson, Christian Davis and White all had five rebounds apiece, and White added three assists.
 
"Different guys had different moments out there," Rinta said. "From a scoring standpoint, Doug and Anthony had some good possessions for us. Just as a team, we need to shoot it better, but I also think that is going to be one of the strengths of our team. I don't expect to have many shooting performances like that."
 
For the game, LCSC was 16-of-58 from the field for 27.6 percent. That included a 7-of-29 mark from the 3-point area, 24.1 percent.
 
The Warriors were outrebounded by the taller Broncos 49-25. LCSC finished with 16 turnovers, while the Broncos had 12.
 
The Warriors play another in-state NCAA Division I school in an exhibition in their next game as they will travel to Moscow and play the University of Idaho next Friday at 7 p.m.
 
"We are testing ourselves against another NCAA schools, but I feel this game (the BSU game) will prepare us to play even better next Friday. At least that is my hope."
 
 LCSC's next regular-season game comes Nov. 11 at home against the College of Idaho in the Clearwater River Casino & Lodge Classic at the Activity Center.