GREAT FALLS, Mont. – It was a high-energy environment on Saturday night when the No. 13 Lewis-Clark State men's basketball team closed out the regular season with a 91-81 win over the No. 22 Providence Argonauts. In a contest that saw multiple momentum swings and a lot of emotion, the Warriors came away victorious to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Frontier Conference Tournament and a share of the Frontier Conference regular-season title. They will head into the tournament on an eight-game winning streak.
 
"Our guys really gutted this one out tonight," coach Austin Johnson said. "This is such a hard road trip to sweep and our travel in league is a nightmare, so for us to finish things off tied for first in the league is a credit to every single player on our team."
 
Dana Abe gave LC an early lead, 5-4, on a three-point play with a basket and foul shot. Trystan Bradley answered the Argos' basket with one of his own to keep the Warriors in front three minutes in. Damek Mitchell and Derrick White went back-to-back to grow the lead to 11-7 at 16:12.
 
A pair of 3s by Cory Dollarhide and David Shedrick gave LC six-unanswered points, but the Argos surged to take a 23-22 lead at 7:15. Dollarhide evened the game at 28-28 three minutes later. Abe gave LC back the lead with a basket at 3:49 before adding a pair of free throws to put the Warriors up 32-28.
 
The two teams sat tied 37-37 at the half.
 
Abe got the scoring started with three points in the first minute of the second half.
 
The second half saw a lot of back-and-forth, but the Warriors managed to go on an 8-2 run to grow their advantage to 51-45 with five points from Bradley and three from Cordel Hankerson.
 
A basket from Mitchell was followed by a 3 by Josiah Westbrook and a pair of free throws by White for seven-straight to put LC up 60-52 at 11:47.
 
The game came down to the wire as the Argos kept the score close. A big three by Westbrook and a dunk by Hankerson cushioned the Warrior lead to 78-69 with 4:29 to play in the game.
 
The Warriors hung on to win 91-81 to close out the regular season.
 
Abe led the Warriors with 21 points. Mitchell chipped in 15, Westbrook added 12, Hankerson had 11 and Bradley dropped in 10. Abe led the defense with seven rebounds and White dished out four assists. Hankerson picked up three steals.
 
"We had different guys step up all night, both offensively and defensively," Johnson said. "It's hard to put into words how proud I am of this group but our work isn't done."
 
With the win, LC finishes the regular season on an eight-game winning streak with a conference record of 13-5 and 24-6 overall. They finished tied with No. 7 Carroll for the best record in the conference, but Carroll took two of three meetings to win the tie-breaker.
 
The Warriors clinched the No. 2 seed in the Frontier Conference Tournament and will host No. 7 seed Montana Western on Wednesday in the Frontier Conference Quarterfinals. They game will be held at LC at 7 p.m. Stay tuned to lcwarriors.com for more information on the Frontier Conference Tournament.