LC State Men’s Basketball Downs Walla Walla Behind Bradley’s Career-High

“Good win for our guys in front of a great crowd,” Head Coach Austin Johnson said. “We had a rough first 15 minutes defensively, but after that we were able to sit down and guard.”

Bradley finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double as a Warrior. The senior shot six 3-pointers and was 9-of-19 from the field. Davian Brown finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Alton Hamilton had 13 points and seven rebounds while Anthony Peoples Jr. added 11 points.

“Bradley was really good again and Brown was playing well on both sides of the ball,” Johnson said. “I thought everyone really contributed even on a night where we were sluggish at times.”

The win pushed the LC State winning streak to six games and improved its record to 8-4 overall and 6-0 in conference action, while the loss dropped the Wolves to 3-7 overall and 2-4 in CCC play.

The Warriors shot 10-of-29 (34.5%) from beyond the 3-point line and outrebounded Walla Walla 43-32. LC used the rebound advantage to outscore the Wolves 13-2 in second chance points.

Ethan Ford led Walla Walla with 16 points and nine rebounds. Soren Dalan added 11 points and eight boards.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Bradley opened the scoring with a 3, and Hamilton added a layup to give the Warriors an early 5-0 lead. Bradley added a layup and another 3-pointer and Brown connected on a pair of free throws and a layup of his own as LC State opened up the first five minutes with a 14-8 advantage.

Walla Walla pushed back with a 10-0 run with layups by Dalan and Almonds Sebirokwa and 3-pointers by Ford and Thomas Mestrov to take its first lead of the game, 20-18, with 10:17 remaining in the first half. Brown ended the run with a floater in the lane and the score was even at 20. The Wolves answered with a 10-2 run and took their largest lead of the contest, 30-22, with 6:20 remaining in the first frame.

Bradley hit his third 3 before Peoples Jr. completed an and-one and followed it up with a dunk on the next possession. The Warriors retook the lead 39-38. Bradley made it four from beyond the arc 23 seconds later and pushed the LC run to 11-0. After a free throw by Sebirokwa of Walla Walla, Quentin Raynor drained a 3-pointer from the right elbow and the Warriors led 45-39 after the first 20 minutes.

LC State shot 16-of-34 (47.1%) from the field in the first half. The Warriors connected on six 3-pointers, led by Bradley who went 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and had 16 first-half points.

The two teams traded baskets early in the second half and then LC State opened the floodgates. Bradley made two 3s, Brown added a 3-pointer and two layups and Hamilton put back a shot after an offensive rebound as the Warriors went on a 15-0 run in just over two minutes and took a 62-43 lead. After a Mestrov layup, Lustig slammed in two dunks and LC led by 21 with 11:47 to go.

Walla Walla worked the lead down to 12 with 5:44 left before Bradley once again took the game over. The senior from Denver added six points to his total in an 11-0 LC State run. Hamilton added a layup and Sam Stockton made a 3-pointer. The Warriors pushed the lead up to 23 with 2:09 left.

“This group has been through a lot in a short time,” Johnson said. “Excited to see how we come back from break.”

UP NEXT

The Warriors return to action with their first game of 2024 on the road in La Grande, Ore. to take on Eastern Oregon on Jan. 5.

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