GREAT FALLS, Mont. – Trea Thomas' 3-pointer at the buzzer missed its mark and for the second night in a row No. 8 Lewis-Clark State lost – this time 70-67 in Frontier Conference men's basketball action at Providence Saturday evening.
 
The Warriors (17-5, 6-4) led by as many as 10 points in the early going of the game but the Argos regrouped to turn the game into a nailbiter for the next 35 minutes. In all, there were eight lead changes – most of them in the second half.
 
While coach Brandon Rinta had praise for how the Warriors started the game after a hard-fought overtime loss Friday, their ability to maintain their focus in the second half fizzled.
 
"I was really impressed with how we started the game," Rinta said "We were passing, defending, and rebounding like we are capable of. Unfortunately, we let up for a couple stretches tonight and it cost us the game."
 
Those lapses allowed the Argos to construct leads of as many as eight points in the second half. But LC always battled back.
 
"At the start of the second half and midway into the second half," Rinta said, "we got away from how we needed to play and they capitalized on that."
 
Still, it was a one-possession game throughout the game's final 10 minutes.
 
"This is a tough stretch for us," Rinta said. "We have two more on the road next weekend. In this league, you have to play really well to win on the road. We need to find that level next weekend."
 
The Warriors shot well (45.5 percent) and rebounded well (30-28) but they had 14 turnovers to 11 for Providence.
 
Cordel Hankerson and Race Martin had 14 points each and Cory Dollarhide had 11. Thomas finished with nine points to go with four assists, although Martin was the assist leader with seven. He also had five rebounds.