SEATTLE – The Warriors nearly flipped the script in Thursday's exhibition contest against the NCAA DII Seattle Pacific Falcons. It took two 20-minute halves plus a period of overtime for the game to be decided, and came down to the final minute before the Warriors fell 82-79.
"Great effort by our guys tonight," Head Coach Austin Johnson said. "I am really proud of how they responded and moved on from last night's game."
The talented group of Warrior seniors made a statement early and charged out to a 12-point lead five minutes in. Damek Mitchell opened the game with a 3-pointer to give the Warriors an early advantage, and Trystan Bradley made it 6-3 with an old-fashioned three-point play. Khalil Stevenson added on with a pair of free throws.
The offense did not slow down as Bradley made it a 10-point run with a layup and a 3, both on assists from Mitchell. Stevenson took the ball out of the hands of an SPU guard and found Hodges Bailey who drew a foul and drained a foul shot. SPU rallied to cut the LC lead to two at 18-16 at the 12:29 mark before jumping in front 30 seconds later. LC responded quickly when Jake Albright found Mitchell for a layup to give the Warriors back the lead at 11:40.
The Warriors continued the momentum throughout the half as Mitchell nailed a pair of 3s and assisted Bailey on one of his own to push the LC advantage to 29-22 with 6:56 left in the half. The 3-point party continued with a shot from Bradley. He continued his offensive charge with another five points to give LC a nine-point lead, 39-30, in the last three minutes of the half.
The Lewiston native brought his total in the half to 22 points in the final minute of the frame and the Warriors had a 43-34 cushion heading into the locker room.
SPU adjusted its game play in the second half and worked to silence the hot-shooting Bradley, holding him to four points after the first half. The change proved fruitful for the Falcons down the stretch.
The Warriors stepped to the free throw line for their first four points of the second half to maintain the nine-point lead. Bailey stepped back and hit a 3 to push the advantage to 12, 52-40, after nearly three minutes of scoreless basketball.
SPU went on a 10-2 tear to cut the Warrior lead to just four mid-way through the half. Another streak of tough defense from both teams led to a two and a half-minute scoreless span before the Falcons found the basket to come within one.
Back-to-back baskets by Seattle Pacific pushed the Falcons in front for the first time since the first half before Albright gave the Warriors back the lead with free throws. Bailey carried the momentum into a long 3-pointer to give LC a 63-59 edge with 3:23 on the clock, and Albright kept the Warriors in front by one with a layup.
Mitchell drained a dagger of a 3 with 27 seconds left to give the Warriors a 68-66 advantage and SPU answered with a game-tying layup and force overtime.
Bradley won the overtime tip for LC State and got the ball into the hands of Mitchell. The senior point guard found Albright near the top of the arc and he promptly drained the first three points of the five-minute period. Albright stayed hot and tipped a rebound back in to keep LC in front by a slim margin 90 seconds in.
SPU hit a 3 to regain the lead at 74-73, then stretched the advantage to 78-75 in the final minute. Mitchell increased the tension in the contest with two free throws to pull the Warriors within one, but LC State was unable to make up the difference.
Bradley led the Warriors with 26 points on a 10-for-13 shooting performance. Mitchell tallied 24 points and drained four 3-pointers. They each had seven boards and Mitchell dished seven assists while Bradley blocked three shots. Albright and Bailey joined the two in double-digits with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Warriors and Falcons both shot 44 percent from the floor, and both teams drained 18 free throws. LC State outshot the Falcons from 3-point range by hitting 42.3 percent of their shots, compared to SPU's 30.8 percent.
"I was really proud of our togetherness and competitive spirit," Johnson said. "If we can move forward with that similar focus we'll be a tough team down the stretch."
LC State remains 12-1 on the season and will travel to Caldwell, Idaho to face in-state rival College of Idaho on Feb. 5. The game will act as a preview for the Cascade Conference playoff later in the month.
