LEWISTON, Idaho – A big first half gave LC State Men's Basketball the cushion it needed to defeat the Multnomah Lions on Saturday in the P1FCU Activity Center. The Warriors took the contest by a final of 87-77.
"Great way to finish the weekend for our guys," coach
Austin Johnson said. "Once again, we really defended in the first half which was the deciding factor in the game. In the second half it was a completely unique style of play that we're not necessarily accustomed to, but I felt like our guys handled it well. Our guys made free throws down the stretch and won the war on the glass. Great weekend to cap things off for guys like Jayceon (Smith), John (Lustig) and (Peyton) Knowles. Huge road trip coming up, excited to see how our guys keep responding."
The win improves the LC State record to 17-5 on the season and 12-4 in Cascade Conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
John Lustig put up the first basket of the game and a 3-pointer by
Taden King gave LC State a 5-4 lead three minutes in. A layup by
Alton Hamilton sparked a run of eight points to put the Warriors up 15-9 by 12:13, and foul shots by Hamilton sent LC State on a six-point stretch for a 24-14 lead by 6:43.
Jayceon Smith and
MaCarhy Morris added to the lead before Lustig tallied eight straight points to make it 41-24 with two minutes to play in the half. Morris dropped in a layup and Hamilton added to foul shots to send the Warrior men into the locker room with a 45-27 advantage.
LC State doubled up the Multnomah rebound total in the first half 22-11.
King got the offense going in the second half before four points form Morris and two from Smith made it 53-29 at 15:39. After a bucket by
Gorden Boykins at 15:09, the Lions began to chip away at the lead.
A 3 by King kept the margin at 20 points, but a late surge by Multnomah cut the lead down to 10, 79-69, with 2:31 to play. Free throws by Hamilton, Boykins and King helped the Warriors hold the lead with a final score of 87-77.
STAT RECAP
Morris and Lustig each scored 18 points to lead the contest, King added 16 and Hamilton tallied 14 with eight rebounds. Lustig was 6-for-6 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe to go with seven rebounds and three steals. Smith added 12 points on 3-for-4 shooting.
The Warriors shot 51.5% from the field and made 36 free throws which ranks second in a single game all-time at LC State.
Braeden Edison led Multnomah with 16 points, Alileyon Ford tallied 14 and Noah McCord grabbed seven rebounds.
UP NEXT
The Warriors hit the road next weekend to take on No. 4 College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
