LEWISTON, Idaho – A senior and a freshman turned the tide for Lewis-Clark State College's men's basketball team Saturday evening and the result was a 67-60 Frontier Conference victory over Providence at the Activity Center.
 
No more than six points separated the teams until the Warriors' final winning margin of seven - and that capped a 13-7 LC advantage over the final five minutes of the game.
 
"That was big – just in the fashion that it happened," said coach Brandon Rinta, whose team remains atop the Frontier Conference standings with a 5-1 league mark (16-2 overall). Providence is 1-4 and 7-8.
 
"This team is showing its colors in that that was another game here in the last couple weeks where we could have hung our heads and thought 'It's not our night,' or 'Things aren't going right.' "
 
Freshman guard Damek Mitchell made two field goals, converted five free throws and had two assists during that five-minute span. He finished with 19 points and six assists. Complementing him inside was senior post Race Martin, who was on the receiving end of some of Mitchell's assists en route to a 15-point night.
 
As has been the case for the Warriors, Rinta was able to point to the efforts throughout the lineup – the defense of Trea Thomas, Derek White and Cordell Hankerson along with the rugged inside play of Jeremy Franklin.
 
It was their collective efforts that enabled the Warriors to rebound, literally, from falling behind by six points and seemingly losing the momentum.
 
"We had a tough stretch there in the second half," Rinta said. "We started rebounding it better and we found a lineup that was able to defend them.
 
"I give our guys credit for just continuing to fight, for fighting to get better defensively and making the adjustments we need to offensively."
 
The Warriors return to Frontier Conference action Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. game against Rocky Mountain.