LEWISTON, Idaho – After defeating Eastern Oregon by one point in the quarterfinal round of the Cascade Conference Championship, presented by U.S. Bank, the Warriors had the tables turned on them by Southern Oregon in Saturday's semifinal. A last-second 3-pointer by SOU's Tez Allen gave the Raiders a one-point advantage with a final of 67-66, ending LC's run in the tournament.
The Warriors, currently receiving votes in the national poll, will await the NAIA's announcement of the at-large bids into the national tournament. The selection show will take place on March 3 at 5 p.m. PT on the NAIA Facebook page.
"Super proud of our guys for battling in another tight game," Head Coach
Austin Johnson said. "We struggled to contain them (SOU) off the dribble in the first half and they really hurt us on the glass in the second half, but we kept finding ways to stay in it. Ultimately, SOU was one shot better and that was the difference. Our group has been through a lot and it's been an honor to coach them thus far. Hoping we get another opportunity to compete as a group."
Brennen Newsom got the scoring started with two foul shots before a jumper by
Silas Bennion made it 4-0 in favor of the Warriors. Newsom fought his way to the basket to make it six straight in the first two minutes. SOU strung together a run of five, but a layup by
Oreon Courtney cut the run to keep LC ahead by three at 16:21.
With the lead at one (8-7),
Nathan Fromm took the ball all the way down the court before dropping in a layup to make it a three-point difference once again, but a 3 by SOU's Jake Virga tied things up 14-14 with 12:46 to play in the half.
Fromm knocked down two from the free throw line before
Al Sommerfield nailed a 3 to push the LC lead to 19-14 midway through, but another surge by the Raiders knotted the score 19-19. Fouls shots by
Khalil Stevenson and a layup by
Sam Stockton put the Warriors ahead 23-19, but the lead was short-lived as a SOU took advantage of free throws move ahead 26-25.
Sommerfield hit a triple before converting a free throw at the 5:22 mark to continue the back-and-forth. A run by the Raiders put LC behind 34-29 as the clock ticked down to 2:00. SOU held the Warriors off the board for nearly five minutes before a layup by Stevenson brought LC back within three (34-31).
Colton Spencer stepped up with a big 3 as the buzzer sounded to send the game into halftime tied 34-34.
SOU took the first lead of the second half, but a layup by Bennion quickly evened the score. Sommerfield matched a 3 by the Raiders to help keep the Warriors in front by a slim margin, then blocked two shots to maintain it.
Will Abram put back an offensive rebound at 13:06 to make it 45-41.
Foul shots by Fromm pushed the cushion to six, but SOU rallied to regain the lead and distance itself 64-59 with two minutes to play.
Free throws by Stevenson and Fromm cut the deficit to one and a layup by Fromm put the Warriors up 65-64 with 18 seconds on the clock, but the final-second 3-pointer banked in to close out the game in favor of the Raiders.
Fromm led LC State with 15 points in the contest. He was 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Stevenson and Sommerfield each scored 10 points in their final game in the P1FCU Activity Center. Courtney grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, while Stevenson, Newsom, Bennion and Fromm each had six. Bennion dealt five assists and Sommerfield tallied three blocks.
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