LEWISTON, Idaho – Solid defense from LC State Men's Basketball helped guide the Warriors to a 74-61 victory over Walla Walla University in Lewiston on Tuesday night.
Silas Bennion had a strong performance with 19 points, six assists, six rebounds and four steals to lead LC.
"Another good defensive performance by our guys," Head Coach
Austin Johnson said. "Playing on short rest with two road games ahead, I was pleased with our guys' awareness on the defensive end, especially in the first half. It was encouraging to see Silas play such a complete game. Our ball movement was good and we had some great inside-out possessions."
The contest opened with an and-one play by Bennion before back-to-back 3s by Bennion and
Al Sommerfield gave the Warriors a 9-2 advantage three minutes in. WWU rallied to pull within three by 10:58, but a 13-point run put LC back in control of the game.
Oreon Courtney capped the stretch to give the Warriors a cushion 29-13 at 7:30.
A pair of 3s from
Kalani Sapwell and
Khalil Stevenson, as well as a dunk by Courtney, kept the lead at 16 (37-21) with three minutes to play in the half, and a jumper by
Brennen Newsom sent the Warriors into the break with a 41-27 advantage.
The second half opened with a dunk by Courtney, followed by back-to-back 3-pointers by Bennion, to put LC up by 22 (49-27) for its largest lead of the game. The contest continued in a back-and-forth fashion before ending with the Warriors in front 74-61.
Bennion led LC with 19 points. He was 6-for-8 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range. Courtney dropped 15 points, and both Bennion and Courtney had four steals. Sommerfield added 14 points with four 3s, and Newsom led the defense with eight boards.
As a team, the Warriors shot 45.3 percent from the floor and drained 11 3-pointers. They had 12 steals and forced 16 turnovers.
Walla Walla's KiAndre Gaddy led the contest with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.
The Warriors hit the road this weekend to take on Bushnell and Corban.
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