PORTLAND, Ore. – The Warriors erased a 15-point deficit to force overtime against Multnomah University for a second time this season, but ultimately fell 75-67. The Lions shot well from the floor and played solid defense to hold LC State Men's Basketball to 35.4 percent from the floor on Friday night. Despite 20 points from
Oreon Courtney, the Warriors found themselves in foul trouble and sent the Lions to the free throw line for 14 points.
"Our guys are resilient, but ultimately we continue to struggle with how we start games," Head Coach
Austin Johnson said. "At the end of the day, Multnomah made a couple more big shots than we did and that was the difference."
Kevin Baker wasted little time putting LC on the board with a 3-pointer 20 seconds into the contest. Courtney found the basket for three layups to grow the lead to 10-3 by 16:00. The Lions rallied to cut the difference to one by 13:25 before jumping ahead 11-10 at 12:29. A put-back by Courtney put the Warriors back in front by one 15 seconds later.
Another scoring stretch by Multnomah saw the Lions gain a 19-12 advantage midway through the half before a jumper and 3-pointer by Baker snapped the skid to keep the Warrior within five, 22-17, at 7:59. Back-to-back baskets by
Al Sommerfield and
Brennen Newsom cut the deficit to one, and a layup by Newsom gave LC back the lead, but the advantage was short-lived as Multnomah surged ahead 33-23.
By the end of the first half the Lions had stretched their lead to 43-28.
Courtney hit the first two buckets of the second half and
Nathan Fromm chipped in to bring the Warriors within 11 at 16:32. A triple by Fromm made it a 10-point difference, and a jumper by Newsom helped LC keep pace with Multnomah. Courtney went back-to-back at the basket before draining a free throw to cut the deficit to five, 49-45, at 11:56.
A 3-pointer by
Silas Bennion sparked a game-tying run. A triple by Stevenson made it a two-point contest with just under two minutes to play before slamming down a dunk to tie the score 65-65 in the final seconds to force overtime.
The lions scored first in the five-minute extra period and took a 69-65 lead before Sommerfield put back an offensive rebound to make it 69-67. Multnomah took advantage of LC fouls to take the contest 75-67.
Courtney led the Warriors with 20 points and Sommerfield grabbed a career-high 14 boards. Stevenson scored 11 points, had five assists and two steals, and Newsom tallied 10 points. Bennion dished out six assists.
LC wraps up the Portland trip on Saturday at Warner Pacific at 5 p.m.
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