SPOKANE, Wash. – LC State Men's Basketball, receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 poll, traveled to Spokane for a midweek charity exhibition against NCAA Division I powerhouse No. 12 Gonzaga. The contest benefited victims of the Spokane Complex Fire through partnership with the Back on Solid Ground Fund.
"Good effort from our guys tonight," coach
Austin Johnson said. "Obviously Gonzaga is one of the elite programs and I thought there were stretches where we really competed and went head-to-head with them. We had contributions from different guys and took some steps forward. Need to keep building our identity. Thankful to GU for hosting us and helping the community of Spokane that was impacted by the fires."
The Zags won the exhibition contest 91-59. The result does not count towards the season record and stats do not count toward season or career totals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Dallon Morgan answered a Gonzaga 3 with one of his own for the first LC State bucket of the contest. A basket by
Brandon Suber and foul shots by
Royce Fisher added to the Warrior total to keep the score within 10, 18-8, at 14:02.
After a jumper by
Trevor Manning,
Titus Yearout tallied seven straight points with the help of a steal by
Jamare' Childs to cut the deficit to 23-18 at 11:11.
Elijah Kersey found
Dylan Victorio for a wide-open 3-pointer before free throws had Victorio on a five-point run of his own.
Gonzaga led 54-27 at the half.
Spokane native
Dylan Skaife hit his first 3 of the game a minute into the second half and
Mateen Usui joined the scoring efforts shortly after. Fisher tallied a pair of baskets before Yearout nailed a deep 3-pointer midway through the half.
A 3 by Morgan, layup by Manning and triple from
Carson Way pushed the Warriors past the 50-point mark with six minutes to play in the contest. Manning, Kersey and
Kesler Vaughan each scored down the stretch.
STAT RECAP
Yearout led LC State with 12 points while Fisher and Manning each had seven.
Josh Salguero, Manning, Victorio and Usui each had four rebounds and Kersey led the team with four assists.
UP NEXT
The Warriors host their home opener on Friday against Northwest Indian College. Tipoff in the P1FCU Activity Center is set for 5:30 p.m.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
