LC STATE ATHLETICS NEWS Men’s Basketball

LA GRANDE, Ore. – Taden King was a force from behind the 3-point line on Saturday to help No. 15 LC State Men’s Basketball defeat Florida College 83-66. The contest, played in La Grande on a neutral court, featured seven 3-pointers from the senior which ties for fourth-most by a Warrior in a single game. He finished the day with a career-high 25 points.

LC State battled back from an early 13-2 deficit to eventually lead by nearly 20 points by the end of the contest. The victory also marks the 150^th win for Head Coach Austin Johnson at LC State.

“Another big road win for our guys,” Johnson said. “We got off to about as bad of a start as possible, but we weathered the storm. Florida College did a good job taking away looks for Alton (Hamilton) and packed it in but credit to our guys for not only making shots but also showing great discipline and working for the best shot. Our two seniors, Taden and Gorden (Boykins), were huge all game and set the tone for our toughness. We once again had good contributions from our bench and were able to build on our lead late in the game. Excited to see how this group keeps growing and responding to what the season throws at us.”

The Warriors improve to 9-1 on the season heading into the final games of the 2024 schedule.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After four points by Florida College, John Lustig tallied the first basket of the day for LC State The Falcons continued to grow their lead to 13-2 by 15:27. MaCarhy Morris cut the run with a jumper at 15:03 and Peyton Nordland hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 13-10 at 12:43. Gorden Boykins made it a one-point game 30 seconds later.

Boykins cut the difference to one with his second bucket before Grayson Hunt put the Warriors in front 16-15 midway through the half. After a go-ahead bucket by the Falcons, Jayceon Smith answered with a triple for a 19-17 edge at 9:08. King erased a Florida College 3-pointer with one of his own as the lead continued to change hands.

A pair of 3s by King and a bucket by Morris pushed the advantage to 30-25 with 3:26 left in the half, and a steal by Smith turned into a jumper by Boykins to make it 32-26. Boykins completed an and-1 play for a nine-point lead in the final two minutes and King drained his fourth 3 of the half to a 10-point advantage, 38-28, with 30 seconds on the clock.

LC State led 38-32 at the break.

King continued to dominate the from 3-point range to start the second half and a layup by Morris had the lead at 43-32 45 seconds into the frame. King added to his day with a jumper, his first non-3 of the contest, to continue a back-and-forth. Baskets by Lustig and Hunt had the margin at 49-41 by 16:33.

Baskets by King and Hunt matched tallies by the Falcons, but a run by Florida College cut the Warrior lead to two, 53-51, with 12:20 to play. A jumper by Smith on an assist from Lustig grew the advantage back to 55-51 and back-to-back baskets by Lustig made it 59-52 at 9:55.

Triples by King and Alton Hamilton were followed by a jumper by Morris to keep the cushion at 67-56. King’s seventh 3-pointer of the contest made it 70-57. Lustig, Hamilton and Boykins combined for six straight points and a 3 by Morris at 3:07 gave the Warriors of commanding 79-63 lead.

Free throws by Hamilton and a jumper by Morris capped the scoring for the Warriors in the 83-66 victory.

STAT RECAP

King led all scorers with his career-best 25 points and his seven 3-pointers is tied for fourth-most by a Warrior in a single game. Morris added 13 points with five rebounds and three assists. Boykins tied his career-high with 11 points.

Hamilton grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to pair with seven points, four assists and two blocks, while Lustig had seven boards with 10 points and four assists. Smith also dished out four assists and had two steals.

The Warriors hit 12 3-pointers as a team and shot 50.7% from the field. LC State had 22 points off the bench and totaled 11 points off turnovers.

UP NEXT

The Warriors close out 2024 at home next weekend with Cascade Conference contests against Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho.

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