Men's Basketball | 11.05.2021
Box Score SPOKANE, Wash. – The Warriors traveled two hours north to Spokane to take on the nation's top team in the Gonzaga University Bulldogs in an exhibition on Friday night. Though the scoreboard showed a final of 112-62 in favor of the Zags, Lewis-Clark State showed glimpses of its potential this season.
Kevin Baker had a stellar performance with 21 points against the top-ranked team in NCAA Division I, and
Oreon Courtney put up 12.
"Tonight was a great performance by our guys," Head Coach
Austin Johnson said. "Obviously the final score doesn't reveal how many things we did well, but very proud of our urgency and togetherness. I thought we competed at an elite level and did a great job working to manage the game. I liked how Kevin competed in the second half and Oreon played at a level that we need him to reach consistently. Our bigger games are ahead of us and we'll keep working to improve."
Al Sommerfield drew first blood in the exhibition with a 3-pointer to give the Warriors an edge early. The Zags answered with four straight to take the lead before Sommerfield found the basket on an offensive rebound to make it a 5-4 LC advantage.
Khalil Stevenson fought his way through traffic to go back-to-back with another Sommerfield layup to put the Warriors up by three (9-6) at 17:30.
Gonzaga gained momentum to take a 13-9 lead a minute later, but the Warriors stayed within striking distance with a layup by
Oreon Courtney at 13:45 to cut the deficit to 15-14.
Kevin Baker hit an easy jumper to keep the margin at one (17-16), but the Zags took control of the game shortly after.
Courtney went back-to-back on assists from
Sam Stockton in the final three minutes of the half, but GU held a 64-32 advantage at the half.
LC State matched GU through the first four minutes of the second half, outscoring the Zags 8-7.
Khalil Stevenson hit a 3-pointer at the 16:08 mark to aid the run.
Gonzaga took off after the opening minutes of the half and carried the momentum to a 112-62 victory in the exhibition.
Baker led the Warriors with 21 points and five rebounds. Courtney added 12 points and Sommerfield chipped in seven. Stockton led the team in assists with five.
The Warriors compete in non-conference action at home next weekend when they host the Clearwater River Casino & Lodge Classic. LC State opens the tournament with Providence on Friday before facing Montana Western on Saturday. Tickets and streaming packages are available on lcwarriors.com.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com or on social media @LCWarriors.
