LC State Men’s Basketball Starts Conference Action with Victory Over Northwest

The Warriors went 23-for-27 from the free throw line for their best showing of the season and scored 17 points off turnovers.

“Gritty win for our guys tonight,” Head Coach Austin Johnson said. “Everyone had a hand in this victory which was encouraging. Jaedon had his best game of the year and played with better physicality. Sam (Stockton) really impacted the game offensively and defensively. We hit our free throws down the stretch which was huge. Proud of our guys for sticking with it. We will need a high-energy performance tomorrow with such a short turnaround.”

With the win, LC State is 3-4 overall and 1-0 in CCC action.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Alton Hamilton and Bradley scored the first two LC State baskets to give the Warriors an early 4-2 edge, but Northwest rallied to pull ahead 10-4 by 17:11. A jumper by Davian Brown sparked a run of six points, fueled by tallies by MaCarhy Morris and Gorden Boykins, to tie the score at 15:52, and a triple by Boykins gave LC a 13-12 lead at 15:19.

A basket by Morris and 3-pointer by Bradley kept the Warriors in front by four, 20-16, at the 12:05 mark. Free throws by Boykins, Bradley and Brown moved the margin to 25-18 at 9:23. After a back-and-forth, five straight points by Bradley and back-to-back baskets by Anthony Peoples Jr. and Quentin Raynor had the advantage at 38-27 with 3:35 to play.

Foul shots by Morris and Sam Stockton helped the Warriors close out the first half with a 42-32 lead.

Northwest opened the second half with nine straight to cut the difference to one after two minutes. Raynor made two free throws to push the margin back to three, but a three-point play evened the score 44-44 at 16:40.

Brown put the Warriors back in front 48-44 with back-to-back layups at 14:50, and a layup by Stockton sparked a run of six to make it 54-45 by 12:30. Triples by Brown and Morris gave LC a 10-point cushion, 62-52, with 9:23 to play.

Brown drained a 3 before assisting Hamilton on as fast break, but Northwest gained momentum to pull within three, 69-66, with 4:30 on the clock. Hamilton added free throws and Bradley added one after a 3-pointer to grow the advantage to 77-66 in the final three minutes.

Bradley added a triple to put him at 19 points, and Raynor completed a three-point play to close out the scoring for LC State in the 83-72 contest.

Bradley led the contest with 19 points on a 4-for-6 night from 3-point range. Brown added 18 points, Morris scored 11 and Hamilton tallied 10 with a team-best seven rebounds. Stockton dished out five assists and Bradley blocked three shots.

Lewis Pope led Northwest with 19 points and Luke Howard grabbed eight rebounds.

UP NEXT

The Warriors continue Cascade Conference play on Dec. 1 against Evergreen State. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. in the P1FCU Activity Center.

Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.