Men's Basketball | 03.24.2019
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 7 Lewis-Clark State men's basketball team continues to make LC history at the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. On Monday night, they will play in the program's first-ever NAIA National Semifinal. They will face a familiar foe in No. 11 Carroll for the fifth time this season and this time, a trip to the National Title game is on the line.
The Fighting Saints took the first two meetings of the season before falling to the Warriors on LC's Senior Day and in the Frontier Conference Championship game. The two Frontier Conference teams tied for the regular-season title before the Warriors earned the auto-bid by defeating Carroll 76-60 in the Championship game. It's the first known all-Frontier semifinals in the tournament's history. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. PDT on Monday.
FULL BRACKET
No. 7 LCSC Warriors – 30-6
The Warriors earned their spot in the Semifinal with an upset win over No. 2 LSU Alexandria on Saturday.
Trystan Bradley played a huge role for the Warriors by scoring nine points in the first five minutes to establish the Warrior offense. He finished the game with a team-leading 15 points.
Josiah Westbrook dropped 14 points in the contest, including a perfect 7-for-7 performance from the line.
Cordel Hankerson added 13 points and
Cory Dollarhide had 10.
Derrick White led the team with eight rebounds and five assists while Bradley blocked three shots.
The Warriors have now won 14-straight to bring their record to 30-6 overall and 13-5 against Frontier Conference schools. In their last meeting, White led the team with 22 points while
Damek Mitchell and
Dana Abe each had 14.
LC leads the nation in scoring margin (21.71) and turnover margin (5.37). They have outscored the Saints 293-284 this season and have forced 62 turnovers while committing only 45 in the four games.
No. 11 Carroll - 28-7
With a trip to the National Title game on the line, the Warriors will take on the Fighting Saints for the fifth time this season. With the season series currently split 2-2, this game holds the most meaning. Carroll earned an at-large bid into the tournament after LC captured to automatic-berth with their win in Helena, Mont. earlier this month.
Match Burnham, the reigning Frontier Conference Player of the Year, has led the Saints all season and is currently averaging 20.30 points per game. He ranks fifth in the nation in total scoring (670 points), sixth in free throw percentage (.859) and ninth in points per game. He has been the key to Carroll's success this season, along with Matt Wyman (17.4 points per game) and Dane Warp (16.7 points per game). All three scored double-digits in the conference championship game.
The Fighting Saints lead the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (.418), field goal percentage (.520) and free throw percentage (.808). The contest will pit one of the best offensive teams in the nation against one of the top defensive teams in the nation. In their last meeting, the Warriors held Carroll to 38 percent from the floor and 14 percent from 3-point range. LC forced 13 turnovers.
The Details
The winner of the matchup will move on to face the winner of No. 1 Georgetown and No. 14 William Carey in the NAIA National Championship game on Tuesday at 6 p.m. PDT.
Warrior Athletics and Happy Day will host a Warrior Watch Party at Zany's in the ZPUB Loft on Monday starting at 5 p.m. Those in attendance have the chance to win Warrior and Happy Day raffle prizes.
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.
