Men's Basketball | 02.22.2022
LEWISTON, Idaho – The Warriors battled through adversity to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Cascade Conference Championship tournament, presented by U.S. Bank, and will host sixth-seeded Eastern Oregon University in the quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday night. LC State took both meetings with EOU this season by finals of 76-72 and 65-55.
Tickets are on sale now for the CCC quarterfinal matchup at lcwarriors.com/tickets, and a stream package is also available at lcwarriors.com/watch. Season passes are not valid for the postseason.
THE WARRIORS (21-9, 14-8) – No. 3 seed
The Warrior men faced many challenges throughout the season including illness and injury, but persevered to maintain a hosting seed in the postseason tournament. LC State won its final six games of the regular season, including upset victories over Southern Oregon and Oregon Tech during the final weekend, to boost the Warriors into third place in the standings.
Khalil Stevenson, the lone returning starter from last season's National Runner-Up team, had been a consistent leader for the Warriors all year. With leading scorer
Kevin Baker out with injury, Stevenson stepped up and increased his scoring output to 12.5 points per game. The team's "Swiss Army Knife" averages 3.5 rebounds per game and has 78 assists, 19 steals and is shooting .410 from the floor. He leads the Warriors in 3-pointers made with 57, and total field goals with 121.
Oreon Courtney is LC State's leading rebounder heading into the tournament with 7.0 per game. He tallied a career-high 28 points in the victory over SOU on Friday and is now averaging 11.2 points per game.
Silas Bennion leads the team with 101 assists.
Heading into the postseason, the Warriors lead the CCC in field goal percentage defense (.405) and rebounding (44.6). LC has the fifth-highest rebound average in the NAIA.
THE MOUNTAINEERS (18-12, 12-10) – No. 6 seed
The Mountaineers of EOU finished sixth in the CCC standings in the regular season. The team picked up a huge win during the season when it defeated nearby College of Idaho, the CCC regular-season champion and ninth-ranked team in the NAIA.
Phillip Malatare, the reigning CCC Player of the Week, leads the team and is second in the conference in scoring at 19.0 points per game. He is shooting .478 from the field and has a team0best 89 assists and 38 steals. Xavier Lovelace leads EOU in rebounding with 8.3 per game.
EOU ranks in the CCC's top four in free throw percentage (.729), rebounding margin (+3.9) and blocked shots per game (3.0).
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