Men's Basketball | 03.12.2026

BILLINGS, Mont. – No. 23 LC State Men's Basketball opens play in the 2026 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship at the NAIA First and Second Rounds this weekend in Billings. The Warriors, seeded seventh in the Liston Quadrant of the bracket, will face 10^th-seeded (RV) The Master's (Calif.) on Friday at 4 p.m. PT.
 
Second-seeded No. 7 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) will host the four-team tournament and take on 15^th-seeded Simpson (Calif.) on Friday at 6 p.m. PT. The winners of the two games will face off in the NAIA Second Round.
 
LC State will host a watch party on Friday on the west mezzanine of the P1FCU Activity Center. Doors will open at 3:45 p.m. ahead of the LC State women's game at 5:30 p.m. Fans must purchase a ticket to the women's game to attend the watch party.
 
No. 7 Seed – No. 23 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (24-7, 16-4)
The Warriors earned their spot in the national tournament with an automatic bid as co-champions of the Cascade Conference regular season. LC State is making its 20^th trip to the NAIA tournament and third in a row.
 
Prior to the loss to Corban (Ore.) in the CCC title game, LC State had won 10 of its last 11 games en route to its first conference title since 2021. The Warriors took down defending national champion College of Idaho in the CCC semifinal behind an inspired second half. LC State earned two wins over the Yotes during the season, along with an overtime victory over then-No. 22 Oregon Tech.
 
Senior and All-CCC selection John Lustig has been the heartbeat of the Warriors all season. He leads the team in both scoring (15.6) and rebounding (7.3) this season and is six points away from setting the program's all-time scoring record. He ranks fifth in the conference in rebounding and third in field goal percentage (57.5%). Only fellow fourth-year senior Grayson Hunt has a better field goal percentage with the second-best in the CCC (57.7%). Lustig does it all with 66 assists, 14 steals and 17 blocks.
 
Sophomore Dylan Skaife had a breakout season and earned All-CCC honors with a team-best 86 3-pointers this year. The mark ranks fifth in a single season at LC State. He is second on the team with 12.2 points per game and is tied for the team lead with 21 steals. Brandon Suber was voted All-CCC Honorable Mention and is a key playmaker for the Warriors with a team-best 101 assists that rank fifth in the conference. He is third on the team in scoring with 10.4 points per game.
 
LC State is one of the top defensive teams in the CCC and leads the conference in scoring defense (66.9) and 3-point percentage defense (30.8%). The Warriors are second in 3-point percentage offensively at 38.7%.
 
No. 10 Seed – The Master's (Calif.) (21-9, 12-4)
The Warriors have never faced The Master's Mustangs ahead of Friday's contest. TMU earned its spot in the tournament after a win in the Great Southwest Athletic Conference tournament title game as the Mustangs edged No. 25 Benedictine-Mesa (Ariz.) 77-74. The Master's is making its fourth straight trip to the NAIA tournament and 15^th overall.
 
TMU fell to Cascade Conference team Oregon Tech and defeated Southern Oregon. The Mustangs split the season series with Corban. The Master's earned a statement victory over then-No. 10 Arizona Christian by a final of 91-82 in Glendale in January and bring a three-game winning streak into Billings.
 
Quincy Phillips led TMU with 28 points in the GSAC title game, including 26 in the second half to help the team overcome a 13-point deficit at the half. The Master's finished second in the GSAC in scoring average (83.9).
 
Avery Jackson and Tago Soares earned All-GSAC honors this season and lead the Mustangs heading into the tournament. Jackson is the GSAC's leading scorer with 19.9 points per game on a 49.8% mark from the field. He has knocked down 52 3-pointers this season and leads the team defensively with 6.1 rebounds per game.
 
Soares is the lone Mustang that started all 30 games and is second on the team with 5.4 boards per contest. He is averaging 10.4 points per game with the second-best field goal percentage for TMU (48.5%) and has 53 assists on the season.
 
THE DETAILS
The Warriors and Mustangs will battle it out in Billings on March 13 at 4 p.m. PT. The game will be streamed for free on the Urban Edge Network and radio coverage will be available on The River 105.1.
 
The winner of the contest will advance to the NAIA Second Round against the winner of Rocky Mountain and Simpson on March 14 at 3 p.m. PT. For more information on the tournament in Billings, visit the tournament central page HERE.
 
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.