Men's Basketball | 03.10.2022

HELENA, Mont. – LC State Men's Basketball earned an at-large berth into the 2022 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship, presented by Bomgaars, and are headed to Helena, Mont., for the 2022 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship Opening Round, presented by Ballogy, hosted at Carroll College.
 
The 11^th-seeded Warriors will hit the hardwood against sixth-seeded Jamestown (N.D.) on Friday at 4:30 p.m. PT. The winner of that game will play the winner of third-seeded Carroll and 14^th-seeded Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) on Saturday at 6 p.m. PT.
 
Links to streaming and stats can be found at lcwarriors.com. Carroll College is producing the streaming content.
 
NO. 8 CARROLL COLLEGE FIGHTING SAINTS (28-4, 13-2) – No. 3 Seed
The Fighting Saints received an at-large bid to the national tournament, making it the seventh appearance in a row and 16th all-time. Carroll was the top seed in the Frontier Conference tournament, but was upset by Montana Tech 62-61.
 
Carroll is led by Frontier Conference Player of the Year Jovan Sljivacanin and first-team all-conference selection Shamrock Campbell. Sljivancanin is averaging 19.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, while leading the team with 101 assists and 40 steals. Campbell averaged 14.2 points per game while shooting 49.4 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three. Campbell has 74 assists to just 27 turnovers and was selected to the all-defensive team as well.
 
LC State is 9-16 against Carroll dating back to 2007. The former conference foes faced off most recently in the last contest of the 2019-20 when the Warriors defeated the Saints 75-54 for the FC Championship. The national tournament was canceled soon after due to Covid.
 
JAMESTOWN JIMMIES (24-9, 12-8) – No. 6 seed
The Jimmies grabbed an at-large bit to the national tournament. This is their 12th time making the national tournament and third time in the last four years. Jamestown fell to Concordia (Neb.) in the GPAC title game by a final of 77-70.
 
JU's Mason Walters repeated at the GPAC Player of the Year and is averaging 24.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. Walters is second in the NAIA in scoring and fifth in rebounding. The Jimmies had two second-team selections in Will Cordes and Marco Kjos. Cordes is second on the team with 13.6 points per game and has made a team-high 82 3-pointers. Kjos is averaging 11.2 points and leads UJ with 4.0 assists per game. He is second in three-pointers made with 74.
 
The Jimmies rank fifth in the NAIA in 3-point field goal percentage (.390).
 
The Warriors have never faced Jamestown.
 
(RV) LC STATE WARRIORS (22-10, 14-8) – No. 11 seed
The Warriors earned an at-large bid after finishing third in the Cascade Conference regular season. The 2020-21 National Runners-Up return one starter from last season and are making their eighth straight trip to the national tournament, and 17^th overall.
 
Khalil Stevenson and Oreon Courtney each earned First-Team All-Cascade Conference honors for the first time in their careers. Stevenson has been the Warriors' leader on the court all season. As one of two Warriors to play 30 games this season, the senior from Fullerton, Calif., is averaging 12.1 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, and is second on the team with 84 assists. Stevenson has 21 steals on the season and is shooting .399 from the floor. The team's 3-point leader has drained 58 from beyond the arc at a clip of .331 and is shooting .753 from the free throw line.
 
Courtney is the team's leading rebounder and ranks in the CCC's top 10 at 7.0 per game. The Corvallis, Ore., native is averaging 10.9 points per game and leads LC with 21 blocks this season. He is shooting .555 from the field and has 26 steals.
 
The Warriors rank fifth in the NAIA in rebounds per game (44.2).
 
MOUNT VERNON NAZARENE COUGARS (20-10, 11-7) – No. 14 seed
The Cougars of Mount Vernon Nazarene are headed to the national tournament for the first time since the 2018-19 season and 10^th time overall after finishing fourth in the Crossroads League.
 
MVNU's Kyle Kegley was voted First-Team All-Crossroads League after averaging 16 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. He led the league in rebounds per game and had the second-best field goal percentage (.612). Second-team selection Kade Ruegsegger is shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from 3-point range while averaging more than 14 points per game. Carter Jones was named to the Crossroads League All-Freshman Team after averaging 8.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. He is shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from beyond the arc.
 
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