LA GRANDE, Ore. – Al Sommerfield and Brennen Newsom each had one of their best games in a Warrior uniform on Friday night against the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers. The pair led No. 17 LC State Men's Basketball (11-1, 4-0) in a come-from-behind victory over EOU in Cascade Conference play in La Grande, Ore., with Sommerfield tallying 25 points and Newsom grabbing 15 rebounds.
 
After trailing 30-26 at halftime, LC State had just one turnover in the second half and utilized big performances to overcome the deficit.
 
"Tonight was a big road win for our guys," Head Coach Austin Johnson said. "Didn't have our best stuff, but had enough discipline down the stretch to pull it out. Only one turnover in the second half shows our focus."
 
The Mounties got off to a hot start with the first four points of the game. Khalil Stevenson put LC on the board with a pair of foul shots to cut the deficit in half. Silas Bennion kept the Warriors within two and tallied a pair of steals to keep the momentum going for LC.
 
Sommerfield gave the Warriors their first lead of the contest with a 3 at 16:15, and Newsom was good on two free throws to make it a 9-6 advantage. Another clutch basket by Sommerfield grew the lead to five and Newsom added on to his total to give LC a 15-9 lead midway through the half.
 
Free throws gave EOU the lead at 8:45 and the advantage grew to 18-15 soon after. Nathan Fromm put the Warriors back in front with four straight points. A pair of foul shots by Oreon Courtney widened the gap to 23-18 with 5:36 on the clock, but the Mounties went on a run to even the game 23-23 before taking the lead.
 
Bennion knotted things up once again before giving LC a one-point lead with a foul shot in the final two minutes of the half, but the advantage was short-lived as EOU went into the break ahead 30-26.
 
The first points of the second half came at the free throw line, with three from EOU and a pair by Sommerfield. Sommerfield evened things up before giving LC a 36-33 lead with eight straight points on a layup and back-to-back 3s. Newsom made it a 10-point stretch and a 38-33 advantage by 17:05.
 
EOU tied the score at 38 apiece before taking a 40-38 lead. The back-and-forth continued until Stevenson drained an open 3 to make it 50-47 midway through the half and LC never looked back.
 
The Mountaineers continued to pressure LC and climbed back within one, 59-58, by 4:49. Stevenson and Sommerfield each hit a 3 to push the margin back to four in the final four minutes, but EOU kept pace with 3s of its own to cut the LC lead back to one.
 
Fromm drained a key triple at 3:04 to beat the shot clock, and Newsom helped fight off an EOU surge with a put back. Sommerfield added his fifth 3 of the night as the clock ticked down under a minute and Stevenson capped the Warriors' scoring with a free throw.
 
Sommerfield tallied a career-best 25 points behind five 3-pointers. Stevenson scored 14 points with 3 triples and Fromm chipped in 11. Newsom, in the first start of his career, dominated the boards with his career-high 15 rebounds to go with his 13 points. His 15 rebounds are the most by a Warrior since Zavon Jackson in 2017.
 
"We did a better job of getting shots for Alex in the second half and the ball moved way better," Johnson explained. "Brennen stepped up huge and hopefully this is a sign of being a boost for us on the court."
 
Stevenson had three assists, and Bennion and Courtney each had two steals. Courtney, Sommerfield and Fromm were all 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in a contest where the Warriors drained 21 foul shots. They outrebounded EOU 41-39 and forced 13 turnovers.
 
"We have a short turnaround to prep for another big road game tomorrow," Johnson added. "Excited to see how our guys respond."
 
The Warriors face No. 18 College of Idaho in Caldwell on Saturday at 4 p.m. PT. The Yotes are LC's first ranked opponent this season.
 
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