Newcomers Lead the Way for Men’s Basketball in Opening Win Over NWIC

Each newcomer played a big role with Marsh’s 17 points and Boykins’ four assists. Every Warrior in the contest scored at least three points as LC shot 50% from the field and 46.9% from 3-point range.

“Tonight was a good win to open the season for our guys in front of our fans,” Head Coach Austin Johnson said. “We came out flat and NW Indian did a good job of capitalizing, but we got a huge boost from Gorden and Lorenzo. Gorden really helped us settle down and Zo hit some key shots. Once we settled down and defended, we took off. We will need to take a step in all areas for our game against an extremely talented ACU squad. Excited to see how we respond.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

NWIC struck first and kept things close through the first 10 minutes of the first half. Grayson Hunt sparked a rally of 10 straight Warrior points, fueled by 3s from Jaedon Bradley and MaCarhy Morris, to put LC State in front 10-3. Northwest Indian surged to pull ahead 23-22 by 9:43.

Boykins made an immediate impact when he subbed in with an offensive board and an assist on a triple by John Lustig to put the Warriors back in front 25-23. The basket sparked a run of 12 that saw the LC advantage grow to 34-23 by 7:07.

Back-to-back layups by Hunt and Davian Brown were followed by a 3-pointer by Marsh to make it a 16-point different at 41-25 with 5:37 to play in the half. Baskets by Javon Jones, Alton Hamilton and Marsh gave the Warriors a 51-30 cushion in the final two minutes, and five straight points by Marsh and a 3 by Erick Chaney sent LC into the locker room with a 59-34 lead.

NWIC scored the first two baskets of the second half before a 3 by Bradley cut into the run at 18:24. Marsh struck for back-to-back 3-pointers before Jones added one of his own to increase the margin to 77-43 by 10:08. Quentin Raynor assisted on a basket by Hunt before draining a 3 with 8:02 to play to make it 82-47.

Jones tallied five straight points in a 30-second span before Sam Stockton drove to the basket at 3:58 for a 91-52 Warrior lead. A jumper by Chaney pushed LC State to the century mark, 100-59, with 2:02 to play, and Stockon and Boykins each scored in the final 90 seconds.

Marsh led the Warriors with 17 points on a 5-for-9 night from the 3-point line. He grabbed five rebounds in his LC State debut. Hunt added 12 points with five boards and Jones scored 11. Anthony Peoples Jr. grabbed a game-best 10 rebounds and Boykins led the team with four assists.

UP NEXT

The Warriors host No. 3 Arizona Christian on Saturday as part of the Clearwater River Casino & Lodge Classic. Tip off is set for 5 p.m. in the P1FCU Activity Center.

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