KANSAS CITY, Mo. – One of the hotter teams over the past two months will face one of the colder teams of the last two weeks when the Lewis-Clark State College men's basketball team takes on Columbia of Missouri in the opening round of the 32-team NAIA National Tournament on Thursday.
 
Tipoff for the contest is at 12:15 p.m., PDT, at Municipal Auditorium.
 
Columbia is 26-5 overall and won the American Midwest Conference regular season title and earned the automatic berth to nationals that goes along with it. The Cougars are ranked No. 6 in the NAIA and were ranked as high as No. 3 this season.
 
However, it's actually LCSC that enters the tournament on a hot streak, rather than the Cougars, who have lost three of their last four games and were upset in the opening round of its conference tournament by No. 8 seed Missouri Baptist 78-73.
 
After losing to Montana Western in early January to fall to 2-3 in Frontier Conference play, the Warriors rallied to win 11 of their final 16 games to earn an at-large berth to nationals. It's the fourth time in five years under coach Brandon Rinta the Warriors have qualified for nationals.
 
LCSC wound up third in the conference regular-season standings, but took second in the conference tournament as it defeated No. 10 Montana Western along the way before it fell to No. 4-ranked Carroll in the championship game.
 
"I think we are in a good rhythm heading into the tourney," Rinta said. "This team finished the last two months of the season going 11-5 and four of those losses were to the No. 4 team in the country."
 
LCSC lost to Carroll three times during conference play and then again in the conference tournament.
 
The Warriors have accomplished all of this with a relatively small lineup. Because of some injuries during the season, LCSC has only two players listed taller than 6-foot-5, but the smaller and quicker lineup has clicked since mid-January.
 
The Warriors rank No. 1 in the NAIA in assist/turnover ratio and No. 3 in assists. Taking care of the basketball and not committing turnovers has been one of the advantages with the smaller lineup.
 
Also, LCSC ranks No. 10 in 3-pointers made per game at 9.5 and is No. 13 in free-throw percentage at 73.1 percent.
 
The numbers, however, that get Rinta excited are on the defensive end. LCSC is forcing nearly four turnovers more a game than it commits, which ranks No. 6 in the NAIA, and the team is eighth in steals. The Warriors are No. 14 in 3-point shooting defense, allowing only 31.8 percent. That's a key figure because Columbia ranked No. 4 in 3-point shooting at 40.7 percent a game.
 
Senior guard Doug McDaniel leads LCSC at 17.9 points per game, while senior guard/forward Zavon Jackson is at 10.6 points, and junior guard Anthony Sullen is at 10.1 points.
 
"I think it is going to help having a core group of guys back that have experience at the national tourney and know what to expect," Rinta said.
 
Like LCSC, Columbia also prides itself on defense and the ability to shoot the ball. Columbia ranks No. 8 in the NAIA in points allowed per game at 66.8, and is in the top 15 in blocked shots, field goal percentage defense, and defensive rebounding.
 
Columbia goes 12 deep on its roster and has five players 6-7 or taller, including Malik Ray.  He ranks No. 5 in the NAIA in total blocks, and averages 9.8 points and a team-best 8.2 rebounds per game. Nick Reynolds, a 6-2 junior guard, leads the team in scoring at 13.9 points per game, while Jackson Dubinski, a 6-1 junior, is at 12.1 points.
 
Overall, Columbia is averaging 81.3 points per game and allowing just 66.8.
 
This is LCSC's 12^th appearance at the national tournament. The Warriors are 3-8 all-time in the first round.
 
"This team is excited to be back at the national tournament and have a chance to prove ourselves versus the best teams in the nation," Rinta said. "I am proud of what this team has done to get here."
 
Columbia is making its seventh straight trip to nationals and No. 21 overall. The Cougars have made to the quarterfinal round twice and played for the title in 2008-09. Last year, the team was eliminated in the second round as was LCSC.
 
The winner will play at 3:45 p.m., PDT, on Friday against the winner of the Pikeville-Grand View game.