SALEM, Ore. – It came down to the final seconds, but LC State Men's Basketball avenged its earlier loss with a dramatic 68-67 victory over the Corban University Warriors on Saturday night.
Austin Johnson earned his 100
th win as the leader of the LC Warriors, thanks in part to a double-double by
Oreon Courtney (21 points, 11 rebounds).
"Another massive road win for this group," Johnson said. "We once again got off to a great start and were able to do enough down the stretch to get the win. Oreon was phenomenal and we got good bench production both offensively and defensively. Ultimately, our rebounding and ability to handle their pressure is what allowed us to finish it off. Hoping this keeps our positive momentum going into two huge home games this weekend."
The game got off to a quick back-and-forth start before a 3-pointer by
Nathan Fromm sparked a 12-point run to put LC up 18-7 by 12:18. Courtney scored the final 10 points of the span.
Brennen Newsom slammed down a dunk to start a seven-point rally to grow the lead to 25-9 by 8:37.
Newsom added a bucket in the final minute of the half to send the LC Warriors into the break with a 33-25 advantage.
Corban opened the second half with momentum to erase the LC State lead by 16:36. The hosting Warriors surged ahead 43-40, but a layup by
Sam Stockton kept LC within one. Courtney put the visiting Warriors back in front on an assist from
Kai Warren before draining a pair of free throws to make it a three-point game (46-43).
A 6-2 run by LC grew the lead to 54-49 with 6:22 to play, and Sommerfield and Stevenson each hit a 3 to keep the LC Warriors in control. A layup by Warren pushed the advantage back out to 10 points (62-52) in the final four minutes, and free throws by Sommerfield,
Silas Bennion and Fromm in the last 60 seconds helped LC edge Corban by a final of 68-67.
Courtney led the contest with 21 points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds. He was 8-for-15 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the foul line. Fromm added 13 points and grabbed eight boards, and Sommerfield tallied 11 points including three 3-pointers.
As a team, the Warriors forced 12 turnovers and held Corban to less than 40 percent from the field.
LC State wraps up the regular season at home next weekend with contests against Southern Oregon and Oregon Tech. Senior Night will be held before the game on Feb. 19.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com or on social media @LCWarriors.
