LEWISTON – All three seniors celebrated Senior Night with double-digit performances in a 97-72 victory over Warner Pacific in a Cascade Conference contest at the P1FCU Activity Center on Saturday.
The win improves LC State’s record to 19-7 overall and 17-3 in conference play and tied with No. 16 Oregon Tech for second place in the conference standings. The Knights drop to 3-23 on the season and 1-19 in CCC competition.
Before the game, the Warriors celebrated their three seniors; Davian Brown, Jaedon Bradley and Sam Stockton.
“Super proud of our guys for finishing off the regular season home schedule,” coach Austin Johnson said. “It was awesome to recognize our three seniors and they each had a huge impact on the game.”
Bradley led LC State with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. The Denver native had nine rebounds to lead the Warriors. Brown was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line and finished with 17 points, five assists and three steals. Stockton had 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.
“I’m thankful I got to coach all three of those guys and hope we have some more weeks left together,” Johnson said.
Alton Hamilton added 14 points with six rebounds. Anthony Peoples Jr. also finished in double figures with 12 points and two blocks. Nine players scored for LC.
The Warriors shot 36-of-67 (53.7%) as a team and after giving up the opening score of the game, never trailed again. LC State outblocked Warner Pacific 5-0, won the steals battle 9-3 and outscored the Knights 44-24 in the paint.
“Our guards moved the ball well and our bigs did a great job finishing inside against contact,” Johnson added.
Matt Solomon led Warner Pacific with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Sean Johnson had eight rebounds and Maxwell Moses had four assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After the Knights scored the opening basket, LC State went on a 6-0 run. Brown made a 3 from the left elbow and John Lustig added a layup and a free throw. Hamilton hit a pair of layups, Lustig added to his early total with a layup, Brown scored on a pair of free throws and Stockton got on the board with a layup. The Warriors held a 16-10 advantage after the first five minutes.
Peoples Jr. and Brown each made a layup and Bradley hit a 3-pointer to push the LC State lead to 11 points, 28-17. Brown pushed his total to double-figures with another 3 to give the Warriors a 33-20 lead with 7:33 left in the first half.
Brown added a pair of free throws and Peoples Jr. scored four unanswered. After Mark Mishom hit a free throw for Warner Pacific, Bradley hit a jumper, Lustig hit two free throws and Brown made his third 3-pointer of the first half. LC State went on an 18-1 run and pushed the advantage to 25. The Warriors ended the first half with a 53-31 lead.
Bradley got the scoring started in the second half with a 3. Warner Pacific cut into the lead with a 8-2 run, but a Hamilton layup pushed the lead back up to 21 with 14:56 to go. Quentin Raynor connected from beyond the arc and Hamilton scored on back-to-back Warrior possessions. Peoples Jr. hit a jumper and Bradley hit another 3-pointer to give LC a 76-51 lead with 8:32 remaining.
Peoples Jr. connected with a jumper, Bradley scored on a layup and Stockton hit a pair of layups of his own to push the Warrior advantage to 30. A third Stockton layup in a two-minute span gave LC State 90 points for the second consecutive night.
UP NEXT
“We will prep for a super tough road trip at OIT and Southern where we’ll have to be at our best to have a chance,” Johnson said. “I’m excited to see how this group responds.”
The Warriors finish off the regular season with a trip to No. 16 Oregon Tech on Friday and Southern Oregon on Saturday.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
