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Bradley, Hamilton and Johnson Highlight All-CCC Honors for LC State Men’s Basketball

Published

March 6, 2024

3/6/2024 | Alisha Alexander | Assistant AD-Sports Information

LEWISTON, Idaho – Lewis-Clark State Men’s Basketball was well-honored in the Cascade Conference postseason awards and earned three of the five individual awards along with four all-conference selections. The Warriors had the CCC Freshman of the Year for the second straight year, and added Newcomer of the Year and Coach of the Year to the list of accolades.

Alton Hamilton was voted the Cascade Conference Freshman of the Year, following John Lustig’s nod last season, Jaedon Bradley was tabbed the Newcomer of the Year and Austin Johnson earned Coach of the Year recognition. Bradley was also voted First-Team All-CCC along with fellow senior Davian Brown. Hamilton earned honorable mention joining Quentin Raynor.

“Any award or recognition is rooted in what our group has done collectively, not just as individuals,” Johnson said. “I’m thankful our league had such high praise for our players. A few brief sentences don’t do them justice, but I am so thankful I got to coach them and be a part of their journey.”

Bradley capped his collegiate career with one year as a Warrior and made a lasting impact in his lone season. The Denver, Colo., native leads the team in scoring with 14.6 points per game and shoots efficiently from the field at a clip of 44.8%. He has made 42% of his 3-point shots and is tied for the team-lead with 74 made 3-pointers. Bradley ranks 10^th in the CCC in scoring average, 11^th in 3-point percentage and is tied with teammate Raynor for most made 3s in the CCC this season. The forward had seven 20-point games including a season-high 28 against Walla Walla. He had three double-doubles, with one including 14 rebounds against Corban.

Bradley was voted the CCC Player of the Week twice and is the fifth Warrior to be voted Newcomer of the Year. The most recent was Oreon Courtney in 2021 and the list also includes Doug McDaniel (Frontier, 2016), Jacob Wiley (Frontier, 2015) and Teran Lee (Frontier, 2007).

“JB had an awesome season after a rough start,” Johnson said. “During my coaching career there have been few players as coachable and open to feedback as him; especially for a player who was only with us for one year. JB embodied the term ‘buy-in’ and gave everything he had to this team. His willingness to change/improve certain parts of his game and approach are one of the biggest reasons we had such a successful season and won 22 games. JB had the maturity to see individual and team success go hand in hand which allowed both him and our team to flourish even in times of adversity. He is an LC Warrior through and through.”

Hamilton is the fourth Warrior Men’s Basketball player to earn the honor of Freshman of the Year at the conference level, joining Lustig (Cascade, 2023), Damek Mitchell (Frontier, 2018)) and Napoleon Gordon (Frontier, 2007). The native of Fontana, Calif., leads LC State and ranks eighth in the CCC in rebounding this season with 6.4 per game. He is also eighth in field goal percentage (.559) and second in total offensive rebounds (75). Hamilton is averaging 10.8 points per game and has scored a career-best 18 points four times this season. He notched two double-doubles with one including a season-best 16 boards against Northwest.

Hamilton was voted Cascade Conference Player of the Week once this season and was tabbed All-CCC Honorable Mention.

“It’s great to see Alton recognized,” Johnson said. “In league play he was one of our most important players, and for a true freshman was always going against guys with much more experience than him. Alton is the most mentally tough freshman I have ever been around. Night-in and night-out he was a difference maker for us. With our limited roster numbers there was a lot of pressure and expectation on Alton with not much room for error and he handled that at an elite level. Alton is a winner on and off the court. He is an ultra-competitor and just as important he is a program-changing teammate.”

Brown earned his second First-Team All-Cascade Conference nod after another standout season. The senior is currently ranked No. 15 in the conference in scoring (13.0) and is third in free throw percentage (.879). The native of Pasadena, Calif. is shooting .439 from the field and .329 from 3-point range with 46 3-pointers to his name this year. He is second on the team in assists (76) and steals (31) and averaged 4.2 rebounds per game. He notched a double-double this season with a career-high 11 boards against Bushnell and scored a career-best 28 points early in the season against Providence.

“Davian was all-league last year and was mostly known as a scorer. I believe this year he added to that and was even more of a winner than just a scorer,” Johnson said. “He took a huge step defensively for us and routinely did a great job defensively on opponent’s key scoring guards. His growth and improvement in terms of defense and competitive maturity allowed him to be more of a complete player which took our team to another level. He was always able to be honest about his performances and need for improvement. Few people in our league had the impact both offensively and defensively that Davian did.”

In his first season on the court with LC State, it became evident quickly that Quentin Raynor is a major threat from 3-point range. The All-CCC Honorable Mention selection tied for the CCC lead, with teammate Bradley, in 3-pointer made this season so far with 74. He ranks in the top 15 in the conference in 3-point percentage (.416) and fourth in assist/turnover ratio (3.4). Raynor, hailing from Vancouver, Wash., is averaging 10.8 points per game with 74 of his 100 made baskets being 3-pointers. He is a tied for third on the team in scoring average with Hamilton. Raynor dished out 34 assists and grabbed 34 steals throughout the season. He scored a career-high 24 points against Arizona Christian and has scored double-digit points in more than half of the LC State contests this season.

“Q had a great bounce back year after missing last year to an injury,” Johnson said. “We knew he was an elite shooter that could change the game on minimal touches and he proved that this year. He was always steady handling the basketball and hit some incredibly clutch shots that altered our season. Q’s great asset of never being too high or too low emotionally allowed him to impact winning even when other teams tried to take him away. Over the year Q steadily improved as a defensive player which made him even more valuable for us. Excited to see what he can do moving forward.”

Johnson, a two-time NAIA National Coach of the Year, earned his third conference Coach of the Year honor and second in the CCC. In his sixth season at the helm of LC State Men’s Basketball, Johnson guided the Warriors to a 19-3 record in CCC play including a season sweep of top-25 ranked Oregon Tech. LC State was the lone Cascade Conference team to sweep the SOU/OIT road trip, the longest trip of the season in terms of distance.

“To be honored with an award like this in a league as tough as ours is truly a team and administrative award,” Johnson said. “This group of guys has been one of the most fun and toughest I’ve ever had the pleasure to coach and it started with our seniors Sam Stockton, Davian Brown and Jaedon Bradley. CJ, Tobin and Wallace are the glue that keeps this thing together and help make this a great experience for our players. Thanks to our trainers, student-managers and support staff. Lastly thanks to our AD Brooke Henze who helps make LC a great place to work and a great place for student-athletes to pursue their goals in a supportive environment. Also, shout out to my wife Kelli who hosted our team every Monday of each week of the season for a team meal. Go Warriors.”

UP NEXT

LC State awaits the announcement of the at-large bids to the NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship. The national office will hold the selection show on March 7 at 4 p.m. PT on its social media outlets.