BUTTE, Mont. – Lewis-Clark State College's men's basketball team led by as many as 15 points over Montana Tech in the early-going of the second half but needed to withstand a furious 3-point barrage by the Diggers to win for the 10
th time this season.
Credit a team effort for getting it done but credit Andre McCowan for coming up with crucial basket after crucial basket in the 74-67 Frontier Conference victory Saturday night. He finished with 34 points – the best by a Warrior this season. He connected on five of his seven 3-point goal attempts and was 13-of-19 from the field overall.
"Obviously," coach
Brandon Rinta said, "Andre was on tonight. He carried us offensively. He came up with big shot after big shot down the stretch."
The Warriors (10-1, 2-0) forged at 15-point, 54-39, lead with 11:35 left in the game. Montana Tech (5-5, 0-2) responded with a 17-1 run, fueled by four 3-point goals, to tie the game at 56 with 7:55 remaining. The Warriors never relinquished the lead but the Diggers managed two more ties before the Warriors were able to secure the victory with a 9-2 run over the last 3:54.
McCowan scored seven of those nine points, beginning with a 3-pointer with 3:30 to play. As dominant as they were in scoring over the last minutes, so, too, did the Warriors control the boards by allowing the Diggers just a single rebound in the final four minutes.
"I was really impressed with how the team finished that game those last couple minutes," Rinta said. "Tech took control of the momentum in the second half. They are one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the nation and we let them get too many open looks.
"I give our guys credit for finding a way to get the stops we needed at the end."
Jeremy Franklin finished with 10 points to complement McCowan's 34 as every player except one scored.
Race Martin and McCowan were the rebounding leaders with seven each, and Franklin had six.
Derrick White had a team-best five assists.
"It's nice to see how this team is using our depth to our advantage," Rinta said. "Different guys are stepping up on different nights. Thursday it was Race. Tonight it was Andre."
