GEORGETOWN, KY – Lewis-Clark State Men’s Basketball is in Georgetown, Ky., for the first and second rounds of the NAIA Men’s Basketball National Tournament and will take on Saint Francis (Ind.) on Friday. The Warriors earned the No. 7 seed in the Naismith Quadrant and will play in a pod with second-seeded Georgetown (Ky.), 10th-seeded Saint Francis and 15th-seeded LSU Shreveport (La.).
Action starts on Friday, Mar. 14, when Georgetown takes on LSUS at 3 p.m. PT. The Warriors will face the Cougars at 5 p.m. PT.
See previews of each team below.
No. 7 Seed – LC State Warriors (24-6, 17-5)
The LC State Warriors earned an at-large bid into the national tournament after a runner-up finish in the Cascade Conference tournament. LC State finished third in the regular season and are making their 10th straight appearance and 18th overall in the national tournament.
The Warriors enter the contest with a record of 24-7 overall. LC led the CCC in field goal percentage (.505) and was second in scoring defense (72.1) and field goal percentage defense (.441). The Warriors are averaging 80.1 points per game.
Alton Hamilton was named the Cascade Conference Player of the Year and was the only player in the CCC averaging a double-double. His 10.3 boards per game led the Cascade and his 17.4 points per game mark was second. The sophomore was second in blocked shots this season with 31 and currently leads the team with 79 assists.
MaCarhy Morris was also voted First-Team All-Cascade Conference and enters the national tournament averaging 14.8 points per game. He leads the team with a 3-point percentage of .411. Junior John Lustig was one of the most efficient scorers in the CCC and leads the team in field goal percentage (.601). He is averaging 12.7 points per game and scored the 1,000th point of his career during the conference tournament. Lustig, who earned All-CCC Honorable Mention honors, leads the team with 24 steals this season and is second in assists with 77.
Taden King leads the LC State Warriors in 3-pointers made this season with 57 and freshman Dylan Skaife had a breakout second half including his career-high 21 in the CCC tournament. Senior Gorden Boykins has been a steady presence off the bench and is currently second on the team in steals 22 to go with 16 blocks and 40 assists.
No. 2 Seed – Georgetown Tigers (26-4, 9-3)
Georgetown enters the national tournament for the 34th straight year, an NAIA record, and 43rd year overall with an at-large bid out of the Mid-South Conference. Georgetown finished the regular season averaging 84.2 PPG, while allowing 69.4 PPG. The Tigers were the second-seed in the MSC tournament and were eliminated by Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) before reaching the title game.
Four Tigers earned All-MSC honors, with Tae Dozier, Jaquias Franklin and Jabrion Spikes receiving first-team honors. Dre Boyd was named to the second team.
Dozier averaged 11.1 points per game in the regular season to go with 6.5 rebounds per game, 3.2 assists per game, 1.7 steals per game and 1.6 blocks per game. Franklin led Georgetown in scoring at 15.8 points per game despite only starting six of 25 games in the regular season. He shot 38% from beyond the arc with 56 3-point field goals made.
Spikes, a junior guard, averaged 13.3 points per game while shooting 55% from the field. Boyd averaged 9.9 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 63% from the floor.
No. 10 Seed – Saint Francis Cougars (17-12, 10-8)
Saint Francis earned an at-large bid out of the Crossroads League and is making its 15th appearance in the national tournament. The Cougars made their last appearance in 2022. USF is averaging 80.8 points per game and is shooting 49.8% from the field while averaging 34.7 rebounds per game.
The Cougars had three players earn All-Crossroads League honors with Luke Almodovar and Isaiah Malone being tabbed first team. Zane Burke earned honorable mention honors.
Almodovar leads the Cougars with an average of 20.4 points per game and has a field goal percentage of 50.8%. He is shooting 41.3% from 3-point range. He has scored a total of 593 points this season to bring his career total to 1,023 points. Malone led the conference with a field goal percentage of 68.6% and was third with an average of 7.6 rebounds per game. He has blocked 49 shots so far this season.
Burke is averaging 10.7 points per game and has totaled 66 assists and 12 steals this season.
No. 15 Seed – LSU Shreveport Pilots (18-11, 15-9)
The Pilots earned an at-large bid into the national tournament out of the Red River Athletic Conference and are making their 21st straight trip to the national tournament. The streak is second only to Georgetown. LSU Shreveport fell to Texas A&M-Texarkana in the first round of the RRAC tournament.
LSUS is led by the RRAC Newcomer of the Year in Taj Anderson. In the regular season, Anderson averaged 20.2 points per game with a .519 field goal percentage while shooting .447 from 3-point range. His season was highlighted by a pair of high-scoring contests, one with 53 points and one with 41.
Trey Boston has been a steady presence in the Pilots’ backcourt, averaging 13.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Over the course of the season, he has totaled 113 assists and 36 steals. Boston earned All-RRAC Second Team honors along with Davion Coleman and Tyler Washington. Coleman averaged 14.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.2 steals per game in the regular season while Washington averaged 11.6 points and 5.7 boards per game.
THE DETAILS
All games in Georgetown will be streamed for free on the school’s Youtube page. The game will be carried locally on the radio with the link on the men’s basketball schedule page. The Warriors take on Saint Francis at 5 p.m. PT and the winner will move on to the NAIA Second Round on Saturday at 2 p.m. PT.
