Men's Basketball | 03.22.2019
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the first time in program history, the No. 7 Lewis-Clark State men's basketball team will compete in the NAIA Quarterfinal. The Warriors defeated No. 23 William Penn 88-86 in the Second Round to earn their spot and will face No. 2 LSU Alexandria on Saturday at noon. The Warriors look to avenge their season-ending loss to the Generals in the NAIA Opening Round last season.
FULL BRACKET
No. 7 LCSC Warriors – 29-6
The Warriors took the lead early in the contest against WPU and held it for the rest of the game.
Dana Abe turned in a stellar performance with three LC men's basketball records and a career-high 32 points. He set LC single-game records with 20 made free throws, 24 free throw attempts and 18-consectuive made free throws.
Josiah Westbrook dropped 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and
Cory Dollarhide scored 10.
Derrick White was all over the court with five assists, two blocks and two steals.
As a team, the Warriors were 29-for-34 from the free throw line (85 percent) and 42 percent from the field. LC is currently riding a 13-game winning streak, the second-longest in Warrior men's basketball history.
No. 2 LSU Alexandria - 30-3
The Generals took the Opening Round contest with the Warriors last season by a final score of 77-71. They have won their last two contests after falling to St. Thomas in the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament.
William Claiborne leads the Generals in scoring on the season with 14.78 points per game, and currently leads the nation with a .749 field goal percentage. He ranks second in offensive rebounds per game (3.84). JaMichael Brown leads the nation in assists per game (7.68), and is second in total assists (215). He also leads LSUA in steals with 46.
Phillip Rankin Jr. is the Generals' top rebounder with 8.0 rebounds per game while also leading the team with 75 blocks. He is fourth in the nation in blocks per game (2.34) and in total blocks. Devin Jackson is second in the NAIA in 3-point field goal percentage (3.32).
As a team, LSUA leads the nation in assists per game (21.41), scoring offense per game (96.63) and total scoring offense (3,092). They are second in total assists (685), blocks per game (4.84), total blocks (155) and field goal percentage (.514).
The Details
The winner of the matchup will move on to face the winner of No. 11 Carroll College and No. 13 Pikeville on Monday at 6 p.m.
Warrior Athletics and Happy Day will host a Warrior Watch Party at Zany's in the ZPUB Loft on Saturday starting at 11:30 a.m. Those in attendance have the chance to win Warrior and Happy Day raffle prizes. 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.
