HELENA, Mont. – Lewis-Clark State College's 14th-ranked men's basketball team led early but found itself in chase mode as it lost for the first time this season, 78-69, in its Frontier Conference opener at Carroll College Friday night.
 
After leading by as many as six points in the first half, the Warriors yielded the advantage on a 3-pointer by Dennis Flowers III with 1:05 to go in the opening 20 minutes and never led again even though they never trailed by more than nine points – and that was with almost 12 minutes remaining in the game.
 
"Tonight was a great Frontier Conference road game," coach Austin Johnson said after the Warriors went to 9-1, 1-0 on the season. "I loved how our guys competed and cut it to a one possession game down the stretch."
 
The Warriors frequently were within three points and twice were just a field goal away from tying the game over the final three minutes only to have the Saints thwart the challenges and keep them at bay.
 
The Warriors shot just 37.3 percent from the field, which includes four straight misses after Jake Albright brought them to within three, 72-69, on a field goal and free throw with one minute to play. In stark contrast, Carroll shot an even 50 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range. And, the team that averages 10.3 3-point goals per game made just six.
 
"Ultimately, we need to defend at a higher level and take care of the basketball if we want to win on the road," Johnson said.
 
The Saints also dominated the boards, 38-28, and forced 15 Warrior turnovers.
 
Josiah Westbrook had 14 points to lead the LC scoring with 12 points from Hodges Bailey and 11 from Albright, who also had seven rebounds.
 
The Warriors continue their conference-opening road trip with a Saturday night game at Montana Tech. Tipoff is 6:30 p.m. (PT).