Men's Basketball | 03.19.2019
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the fifth-straight year, and 14th time in program history, the Lewis-Clark State men's basketball team is heading to the National Tournament. The No. 7 Warriors earned the No. 2 seed in the Liston Bracket and will face seventh-seeded Campbellsvile (Ky.) on Wednesday at 8:45 a.m. PDT.
Warrior Athletics and Zany's will host a watch party on Wednesday morning beginning at 8 a.m. Zany's and Happy Day will provide a free pancake breakfast.
On Saturday at 2 p.m. PDT,
Andre McCowan will represent LC in the slam dunk portion of the NABC-NAIA Shoot & Slam. He earned the fourth spot in the contest after winning the national fan vote.
FULL BRACKET
The Warriors – 27-6
The Warriors are currently riding an 11-game win streak that stretches back to an 80-75 win over Montana Tech on Jan. 31. LC finished the season with a lot of momentum, including two upset wins over Carroll College who was then ranked in the top 10. The Warriors took down the Fighting Saints at home on Senior Day (70-55) before doing so again in Helena, Mont. to win the Frontier Conference Championship (76-60) to earn the automatic berth.
Dana Abe was named First-Team All-Frontier Conference after leading the Warriors with 14.6 points per game. The senior was third in the conference with a .561 field goal percentage and is also tied for the team-high in rebounds per game with 4.5. He leads LC with 408 points scored this season.
Damek Mitchell took home Second-Team All-Frontier Conference honors after leading the FC in assists (177) and assists per game (5.53). He ranks sixth nationally in assists per game and seventh in total assists. He leads the Warriors with 51 3-pointers made the season and has drained an impressive 82 free throws in 102 attempts (.804).
Derrick White currently holds the second-best assist/turnover ratio in the nation (3.83). The All-Frontier Conference Honorable Mention selection was fourth in the conference in assists per game with 3.59 and is second on the team in assists (115).
The key to LC's defense,
Cordel Hankerson leads the Warriors with 50 steals on the season and is tied for the team-lead in rebounds per game (4.5). He has grabbed the most boards on the team with 144, while averaging 8.7 points per game.
As a team, the Warriors lead the nation in scoring margin (23.47) and turnover margin (5.38). They are second in assist/turnover ratio (1.76) and third in field goal percentage (.512). LC lands also lands in the top five in total assists (609), scoring defense per game (64.91), and assists per game (19.03).
Campbellsville Tigers – 22-9
This trip marks the 13th appearance at the NAIA Championship for the Tigers. They currently hold a record of 10-12 all-time. The last team to be called in the bracket reveal, the Tigers hold the seventh seed in the Liston Bracket.
The Tigers earned an at-large berth into the tournament after falling to No. 1 Georgetown (Ky.) in the Mid-South Conference Tournament semifinal.
A trio of Tigers were named All-Mid-South Conference First Team. Stephaun Adams, Andrew Smith and Hagen Tyler were all in the top-six of the conference's points per game averages.
Adams, the Tigers' leading scorer (19.87 points per game), also led the conference in steals. He ranks second in the nation in steals per game (2.42) and in total steals (75). He is fourth in free throw percentage (.877). Adams ranks sixth in 3-point field goals made with 98.
Smith averaged a double-double in the regular season with over 17 points per game and 10.46 rebounds per game. His rebounds per game are ranked fourth in the nation, and his 293 total rebounds are seventh-best.
Tyler is in the country's top-10 in 3-pointers made (93).
As a team, the Tigers are fifth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (1.44). They are also in the top-10 in scoring margin (14.68), free throw percentage (.761), 3-pointers made (323) and turnover margin (3.10).
Last season the Tigers defeated Columbia College 75-66 in the Opening Round before falling to Montana Western 75-72.
The Details
The winner of the matchup will move on to face the winner of third-seeded No. 10 Vanguard and sixth-seeded No. 23 William Penn on Friday at 12:15 p.m.
Warrior Athletics and Happy Day will host a Warrior Watch Party at Zany's in the ZPUB Loft on Wednesday starting at 8 a.m. Those in attendance have the chance to win Warrior and Happy Day raffle prizes. Zany's and Happy Day will provide a free pancake breakfast. The game will also be streamed on campus in the SUB.
KOZE radio will be broadcasting the games from Kansas City, Mo. The link can be found on the men's basketball schedule.
Fans can stream the tournament online through the NAIA Network. Single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-tournament package is available for $34.95.
The NAIA also released the Experience NAIA Championship App this season. Live stats, team info, etc., will be included along with push notifications of game scores and tournament updates.
The live stats link can also be found on the men's basketball schedule.
