GEORGETOWN, KY – Warrior Men’s Basketball saw its season come to an end on Friday in the NAIA First Round, presented by Ballogy, with an 81-73 loss to Saint Francis (Ind.). Kasen Carpenter highlighted the LC State offense with 17 points on five 3-pointers as LC State nearly completed a second-half comeback.
LC State ends its season with a record of 24-8.
“Tough way for the season to end but we certainly didn’t play well enough to win,” coach Austin Johnson said. “Tough time to struggle as much as we did defensively, but proud of our guys for battling and having some life down the stretch. Tonight’s result is painful but doesn’t take away from the special things this group did together. We will miss Gorden (Boykins) and Taden (King) greatly and everything they brought to this program. They were great teammates and examples of what we strive to be at LC.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Saint Francis scored the first four points of the game before a triple by Dylan Skaife put the Warriors on the board at 18:29. MaCarhy Morris added a 3-pointer of his own 45 seconds later for a 6-4 edge, but the Cougars continued to keep pace with LC State through the first four minutes. A basket by Alton Hamilton and an and-1 play by John Lustig had the Warriors in front 11-9 at 15:47.
Hamilton and Lustig tallied back-to-back baskets for a 15-12 advantage before Taden King added a 3 at 14:19 to make it 18-12. After a run by USF, baskets by Hamilton and Gorden Boykins helped LC State keeps its lead at 22-20, but the Cougars persisted and jumped in front 25-22 midway through the half.
A triple by Kasen Carpenter knotted the score 25-25 at 9:28 and foul shots by Josh Salguero made it 27-27 shortly after. Jayceon Smith banked in floater to regain the lead for the Warriors and another triple by Carpenter continued the back-and-forth.
The Cougars rallied to pull ahead 41-32 before a layup by Boykins cut the run with three minutes left in the half. Morris scored once more in the final five minutes, but Saint Francis led 51-36 at the break.
Lustig scored the first two LC State baskets of the second half, but Saint Francis continued to grow its lead. Tallies by Morris, Boykins and Hamilton kept the difference at 17 points. Free throws by Lustig and a basket by Morris had the margin at 63-50 at 12:46.
Carpenter hit two 3-pointers and free throws before a basket by Hamilton and another 3 by Carpenter had the score within six, 73-67, with 4:50 to play.
The Cougars pushed their lead back to 10 points with 2:50 on the clock, but free throws by Hamilton cut the deficit to 77-71 at 1:57. Foul shots by King brought the game within four, but Saint Francis hung on to advance in the tournament.
STAT RECAP
Carpenter led the Warriors with 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point range. Hamilton notched a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Morris and Lustig each scored 11 points.
