(Lewiston, ID) In the featured Cascade Collegiate Conference game of the Week, No. 15 LC State defeated a hot Corban University by a final of 82-55. Alton Hamilton was perfect from the floor with nine baskets on nine attempts in his eighth 20-point game of the season.
“Great bounce back win for our guys and a true team win,” coach Austin Johnson said. “We got great minutes up and down our roster. Alton handled his early foul trouble really well which helped us all out. John (Lustig) and Gorden (Boykins) once again set the tone with perimeter defense. Kellen (Jedlicka) was awesome off the bench; impressed with how he responded to the opportunity this weekend. Tonight was a good win but we’ll have to prep quickly for a tough road trip to SOU and OIT.”
The victory improves the LC State record to 13-3 overall and 8-3 in CCC action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After an early basket by Corban, a tipin by Josh Salguero and 3 by Taden King had LC State in front 5-2 at 17:43. Corban pulled in front 14-9 and led by a slim margin until a layup by MaCarhy Morris evened the score 18-18 with 5:39 to play in the half. The Warrior teams battled back and forth through the remainder of the first half with baskets by Jayceon Smith, King, Hamilton and John Lustig helping LC State keep pace for a 31-31 score at the half.
The hosting Warriors outscored the visiting team 51-24 in the second half and held Corban to just 7-for-32 (21.9%) from the field in that span. LC State made 21 of its 27 attempts (77.8%) from the floor.
Back-to-back baskets by Hamilton kicked off the half before LC State made its big run. Lustig dropped in a pair of layups to spark the 13-point rally with contributions from Morris, Hamilton and a triple from Kellen Jedlicka to push the margin to 48-33 by 14:52. Two more baskets by Hamilton and an and-1 play by Gorden Boykins made it 58-39 at 11:39.
Morris sparked a scoring stretch of 10 straight LC State points, fueled by tallies form Lustig, King, Peyton Knowles and Morris, to push the advantage to 70-44 with 7:42 to play. A 3-pointer by Peyton Nordland capped the contest with the 82-55 final score.
STAT RECAP
Hamilton led all scorers with 20 points on a perfect 9-for-9 night from the field. He added six rebounds and blocked two shots. Lustig scored 15 points and led LC State with seven rebounds. Freshman Jedlicka scored a career-high 12 points and was 2-for-2 from 3-point range, Morris scored 11 and King added 10.
The LC State Warriors shot 61.1% from the field (33-54) and held Corban to just 32.3%. Coming into the contest, Corban was second in the CCC in scoring defense.
Luc Krystkowiak led Corban with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Spivey Word and RJ Veliz each added 12 points.
UP NEXT
LC State is on the road next weekend for important matchups with Southern Oregon and Oregon Tech.
