Men's Basketball | 03.02.2021
CORVALLIS, Ore. – With an 18-1 regular season and a Cascade Conference title under their belts, the No. 4 Lewis-Clark State Men's Basketball team took home four Cascade Conference awards and earned three of the five all-conference selections.
Damek Mitchell was voted the Cascade Conference Player of the Year,
Hodges Bailey was tabbed the conference Defender of the Year,
Oreon Courtney was named the Newcomer of the Year and
Austin Johnson earned the second conference Coach of the Year title in his career.
Mitchell will leave LC State as one of the most decorated Warriors in program history. He is the all-time leader in assists (577) and 3-pointers made (195), and ranks in the top 10 in points (fourth at 1,314), free throws (third at 291), rebounds (10
th at 512) and steals (ninth at 130). This season, Mitchell leads LC State in assists (93) and steals (24), while averaging 14.7 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game. The senior from Bellingham, Wash. ranks 29
th in the NAIA in assists per game (4.9) and in the top 50 in total assists. The senior helped LC State to its first CCC title with 30 points in the clinching game at College of Idaho and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds against William Jessup earlier in the season. Mitchell was the Frontier Conference Co-Defender of the Year last season and is a two-time All-American. He was voted the Cascade Player of the Week three times this season.
"Very happy for Damek and for this recognition," Johnson said. "This season Damek has further cemented his place as one of the premier players in the country and arguably the best player in school history. He impacts the game in every way you can think of and that's reflected in both his individual numbers and in the success we've had as a team. He has been a special player since he arrived at LC and continues to elevate his game, his leadership and this program."
Bailey's defense on the court has big part of the Warriors' success all season. He has helped the Warriors to the third-best field goal percentage defense in the NAIA (.376) and seventh-best scoring defense per game (65.42). The scrappy senior leads LC State in 3-point field goal percentage (.477) and averages 12.5 points per game. He holds a .493 shooting percentage from the field and .769 from the foul line. The Centralia, Wash. native has dealt 21 assists and grabbed 11 steals and 37 rebounds this season.
"We feel that Hodges is especially deserving of this award," Johnson explained. "He usually defends the other team's top perimeter player and has a tremendous impact on our team defense with how hard and intelligently he plays on the defensive end. His grit and buy-in has helped us consistently defend at a high level during his time at LC. He also had a breakout season this year offensively and made major strides in efficiency and production."
Redshirt-freshman Courtney leads the Warriors in field goal percentage (.730) off the bench. He is averaging 8.3 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game and can throw down a dunk when the opportunity arises. The Corvallis, Ore. native has 13 steals so far this season and is third on the team in field goals made (73).
"Oreon had a fantastic season as a redshirt-freshman," Johnson said. "He has the highest points-per-game average of an LC freshman in 13 seasons. Oreon has been unbelievably consistent regardless of the opponent and has made great strides defensively. We're excited about his continued growth and improvement here at LC."
In his third season leading LC State Men's Basketball, Johnson and his squad are making their third straight trip to the national tournament. He led the Warriors to a conference title for the third year in a row, and the first as members of the Cascade Conference. Johnson was voted the Frontier Conference and NABC NAIA DI Coach of the Year last season after leading LC State to the highest winningest percentage in program history (.906). The Warriors currently boast an 18-1 record, with the only loss coming to another NAIA top-five team.
"Ultimately this is a direct reflection of having both phenomenal players and an incredible staff," Johnson said. "No one has been more fortunate than I have been due to the people I get to be around every day. Coach Leif (Karlberg), CJ (Johnson) and Cevin (Meador) all possess head coach abilities and confidence. Most importantly, they love our players and do an incredible job of helping them grow as men on and off the court."
Mitchell, Bailey and
Trystan Bradley earned three of the five spots on the revised all-conference team.
Bradley leads the Warriors in scoring this season and is averaging 16.3 points per game heading into the national tournament. He is shooting .486 from the field, .357 from 3 and .680 from the free throw line. The Lewiston native averages 6.4 boards per game and has 20 assists, 11 steals and seven blocks so far this season. He joined the program's 1,000-Point Club earlier this season and is in the top 10 in career points (1,103). He is 10
th in rebounds (490), ninth in field goals made (431) and third in blocks (96). He was voted All-Frontier Conference and an All-American last season, and was once voted the CCC Player of the Week this year.
"Trystan has had a standout senior season. He very easily could have been Player of the Year in conference with the impact he had both offensively and defensively," Johnson said. "We won some tough road games this season when we weren't necessarily our best and I think a lot of that is a byproduct of Trystan's increase in toughness and ability to impact the game."
Due to the unprecedented season with only two teams competing during the traditional season, this year's all-conference was altered slightly with a selection committee voting for the awards.
LC State was chosen to host one of 16 Opening Rounds as part of the NAIA National Championship. Play will begin in Lewiston on March 12, and the teams competing will be revealed on March 4 on the NAIA Facebook page.
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