The Warriors wrap up the regular season with a record of 22-6 after going 17-5 in Cascade Conference play.
“Gritty win for the guys to finish off the regular season,” coach Austin Johnson said. “Not sure we had anything in the tank by the time the game ended but so proud of this group for finishing it off. We won the rebounding battle and took care of the ball which helped us during some offensive droughts. MaCarhy (Morris) had a great game to finish off a really good weekend for him. Alton was dominant and his ability to score inside impacts the game on a number of levels. Taden (King) hit some big shots, and John Lustig had some huge finishes down the stretch. Proud of our resilience, but also know we’ve got some huge challenges ahead. Excited to stay on the journey with these guys.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Hamilton and MaCarhy Morris combined for five points to get the Warriors out to a 5-2 lead in the first minute, and Hamilton added two more baskets to keep LC State in front 9-8 by 16:26. Taden King hit a 3-pointer before back-to-back baskets by Lustig, a 3 by King and layup by Morris made it a 21-14 lead for LC State at 12:57.
Hamilton threw down a dunk and tallies by King and Lustig kept the advantage at five points, 27-22, at 8:24. Bushnell cut the difference to three with 6:21 to play in the half, but Morris and Josh Salguero pushed the margin to 31-24 at 5:11.
The teams battled back-and-forth until baskets by Hamilton and Jayceon Smith had the advantage at 42-32 at the break.
Bushnell opened the second half with a 10-0 run to tie things up 42-42 before five combined points from Lustig and King gave LC a 47-42 edge. The Beacons retied the contest 47-47 and pulled ahead 50-49, but a string of four straight Warrior baskets by Gorden Boykins, Morris and Hamilton had the LC State lead back to 57-50 with 10:43 to play.
Morris drained a 3 to grow the margin to eight by 9:08 before both teams were held scoreless for nearly five minutes. Hamilton tallied five straight LC State points, and a layup by Lustig was followed by four free throws by Hamilton in the final minute to seal the victory.
STAT RECAP
Hamilton led the contest with 25 points and 14 rebounds and five assists. Morris added 14 points with six rebounds and Lustig was 6-for-10 from the field with 13 points. King added 11 points with three 3-pointers.
The Warriors shot 50% from the field and went 7-for-8 from the free throw line. They outrebounded Bushnell 41-33.
