LEWISTON – The Warriors clinched a spot in the Cascade Conference Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank, thanks to big nights from Davian Brown, John Lustig and Grayson Hunt. The trio combined for 59 points on Friday to help LC State Men’s Basketball defeat Multnomah 87-70 in come-from-behind fashion. The victory secures either the No. 7 or No. 8 seed in the tournament.
With the win, LC State is 13-14 on the season and 10-11 in conference play.
“Great work by our guys tonight down the stretch,” Head Coach Austin Johnson said. “Proud of how they responded. Multiple guys raised their level in the second half and the results showed. I thought Oreon (Courtney) was a huge boost despite being undersized. Grayson got it going in the second half. Davian consistently hit some big shots and John had another all-around game. We have a quick turnaround tomorrow against a really good and extremely well-rested Warner Pacific team.”
Lustig and Hunt got the back-and-forth started for LC State, and a 3 by Brown gave the Warriors an 8-5 lead at 17:22. Another triple by Brown and free throw by Lustig kept LC in front by a slim margin, and Brennen Newsom added two baskets to make it 22-20 Warriors at 10:31.
Multnomah took the lead with a 3 at 8:52 and held it until a 3 by Brown evened things up 34-34 with 4:08 to play in the half. The Lions closed out the half with an 11-2 run to take a 45-36 advantage into the locker room.
Hunt got the momentum going for the Warriors in the second half with the first six LC State points. One of the baskets sparked a massive 20-0 run, featuring a pair of 3s by Brown, to give LC State a 58-49 lead at 13:15. Hunt added 10 points during the stretch.
A deep 3 by Lustig at 11:58 and a pair of triples by Kai Warren kept the lead with the Warriors midway through the half. LC led 67-56 with 10 minutes to play.
Oreon Courtney kept the momentum with the Warriors with back-to-back jumpers under the six-minute mark to make it a 73-62 game. Lustig, Brown and Sam Stockton added to the total in the final minutes of the 87-70 victory.
Brown led the Warriors with 23 points in the contest on seven 3-pointers. Lustig and Hunt each scored 18, and Hunt led the defense with seven rebounds. Courtney added eight points, and Lustig and Courtney each grabbed six boards. Silas Bennion dished out four assists.
The Warriors shot .447 as a team and had just four turnovers all game.
Multnomah’s Tyrese Taylor led all scorers with 31 points, Wallace Ungwiluk added 11 and three players grabbed eight rebounds.
UP NEXT
The Warriors close out the regular season on Saturday against Warner Pacific. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. with Senior Night taking place at approximately 5:45 p.m.
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