11/9/2024 | Alisha Alexander | Assistant Athletic Director-Sports Information
CALDWELL, Idaho – No. 25 Lewis-Clark State Men’s Basketball earned its third straight victory after closing out the Taco Bell Shootout with a 93-73 win over Providence (Mont.). The afternoon featured 20-point games from both Alton Hamilton and MaCarhy Morris for the second straight day with Hamilton doing so with his second double-double.
Hamilton finished the day with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Morris added 20. The duo combined for 93 points over the weekend.
“Another good win for the guys,” Head Coach Austin Johnson said. “Things got interesting late, but we found a way to level things out. We had a lot of guys step up their games from yesterday and once again got big contributions from Alton and MaCarhy. Taden (King) and Gorden (Boykins) really helped settle us as seniors should. Kellen (Jedlicka) had some big moments as well. Excited to see how this group keeps learning and improving together.”
The victory improves the Warrior record to 3-0 while Providence falls to 0-4.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Taden King and John Lustig combined for the first five points of the game before a dunk by Lustig put the Warriors up 7-2 at 17:58. Morris tallied five points to keep the Warriors in front before a 3 by King and jumpers by Morris and Gorden Boykins pushed the lead to 19-9 by 14:22.
Hamilton joined in on the scoring at 13:28, but the Warriors were held off the board for four minutes as Providence cut the margin to 21-18. Morris and Kellen Jedlicka hit back-to-back 3s to push the LC State advantage back out to 27-19 at 8:56.
A layup and free throw by Jedlicka and foul shots by Hamilton kept the momentum with the Warriors for a 32-21 cushion by 6:22 before a block by Lustig turned into a 3-pointer by Jedlicka at the 5:00 mark. Boykins scored before a 3 by Hamilton had the Warriors in front with a solid 42-26 lead 10 seconds later.
Jayceon Smith tallied his first points of the game at 4:31 and Lustig drained a triple 30 seconds later to make the difference 17 points, 47-30, and baskets by King, Smith Grayson Hunt carried the half to a close with the Warriors leading 53-31.
King and Lustig scored the first two baskets of the second half for LC State and Hamilton netted another 3 to give the Warriors a 60-38 advantage by 16:57. Hunt and Hamilton went back-to-back with buckets before a pair of 3s by Morris for a commanding 72-49 lead with 12:46 to play.
The Warriors kept the offensive pressure on Providence with tallies from Boykins and Lustig. LC State maintained the 20-point cushion and four free throws by Hamilton had the score at 81-59 with seven minutes on the clock. Hamilton put up back-to-back layups for an 85-61 lead, but a 12-point run but the Argos cut the difference to 85-73 with 3:01 left in the half.
Boykins converted on a pair of free throws and Lustig, Boykins and Hamilton added layups in the final two minutes to close out the 93-73 victory.
STAT RECAP
Hamilton led the Warriors with 22 points and 10 rebounds and Morris added 20 points, both scoring at least 20 for the second straight contest. Both went 7-for-14 from the field with Morris draining four 3s and Hamilton netting two. Hamilton went 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
Lustig added 13 points with six boards and three assists, Boykins tallied 11 points, five rebounds and three assists and King scored 10 points.
The Warriors shot .515 from the field and .478 from 3-point range while going 14-for-15 from the free throw line.
UP NEXT
LC State heads to Butte, Mont., next weekend for Montana Tech’s Comfort Inn Fall Classic. The Warriors will face Carroll (Mont.) on Friday before taking on host No. 9 Montana Tech on Saturday.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
