(Portland, OR) Alton Hamilton found his groove and Gorden Boykins scored a career-high to help led the No. 15 LC State Men’s Basketball team past Warner Pacific (Ore.) 73-60 on Saturday. Hamilton dropped 22 points and Boykins tallied 15 in the victory.
“Another gritty win for our guys,” coach Austin Johnson said. “Alton had his best game in a long time which was encouraging to see. John (Lustig) and Gorden were big time setters on the defensive end which helped us weather a rough night from 3-point range. Proud of these guys and still believe our best basketball is ahead of us.”
The Warrior men improve to 12-2 on the season and 7-1 in Cascade Conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Baskets by John Lustig and Boykins helped LC State keep pace with Warner Pacific in the opening minutes of the contest, and a Taden King 3-pointer kept the Warriors within three, 10-7, five minutes in. Baskets by Hamilton and Lustig had the deficit at one, 12-11, at 13:06, and MaCarhy Morris kept it there a minute later.
Morris put the Warriors in front with a 3-pointer at 11:07 as the teams continued to trade baskets. Josh Salguero and Hamilton kept it close and a triple by Kasen Carpenter retied the game 23-23 at 7:19. Hamilton put back an offensive board at 4:08 to continue the back-and-forth and put back another at 2:20 for a momentary 33-32 edge.
Hamilton continued to drive the LC State offense in the final minutes of the half, but the Knights maintained a slim lead over the Warriors. Lustig hit the equalizer to beat the buzzer and send the game into halftime tied 37-37.
Boykins tallied the first eight LC State points of the half to put the Warriors in front 45-43 at 15:47. Hamilton and Lustig went back-to-back for a 49-46 edge at 14:22, and a triple by Dylan Skaife made it 52-48 at 12:33. WPU kept the score close, but another basket by Boykins at 11:06 had the margin at 54-50.
The senior stayed hot with a layup and free throw to push the difference to 57-53 midway through the half and Jayceon Smith and Hamilton scored consecutive baskets for a 61-55 advantage with 8:20 to play.
Salguero helped hold off WPU before a behind-the-back pass from Lustig to Smith had the lead at 65-60. Four points from Hamilton and a bucket by Morris grew the advantage to double-digits, 71-60, with 2:33 to play.
Lustig added to the Warrior total in the final minute to cap the 73-60 victory.
STAT RECAP
Hamilton led the contest with his 22-point, 10-rebound double-double. He shot 9-for-11 from the field. Boykins was 6-for-9 with his career-best 15 points with seven rebounds. He scored 13 points in the second half. Lustig added 10 points and a game-high four assists.
The Warriors shot 48.4% from the field and outrebounded the Knights 41-27. LC State turned the ball over just five times and dealt 10 assists.
UP NEXT
The Warriors return to the P1FCU Activity Center on Jan. 10 to host Bushnell at 7 p.m.
