LEWISTON – The Lewis-Clark State Men’s Basketball team rallied late, but fell short to No. 3 Arizona Christian 81-70 in the Clearwater Casino & Lodge Classic in front of more than 800 fans at the P1FCU Activity Center on Saturday.
The loss dropped the Warriors record to 1-1 on the season. The Firestorm improved to 4-0.
After missing the 2022-23 season and a three-point performance against Northwest Indian College on Wednesday, Quentin Raynor introduced himself to the Warrior faithful. The junior had the best scoring output of an LC State player on the season with a 24-point showing. Raynor was 8-of-14 from the field and 5-of-10 from behind the 3-point line.
John Lustig and Javon Jones added eight points each and Alton Hamilton finished with seven points and a team-high six rebounds before fouling out.
“Quentin and Alton were a spark which was encouraging,” coach Austin Johnson said. “We also had a great crowd tonight.”
The Warriors shot 25-of-51 (49%) from the field with 12-of-31 (38.7%) shooting from beyond the arc. LC State relied on its bench offensively with 52 of its 70 points coming from non-starters.
“There were some clear positives and we’ll work to shore up our defense as our schedule doesn’t get any easier,” Johnson said. “Excited to see how we respond.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
John Lustig got the scoring going with a 3-pointer on the first possession of the game. The Firestorm answered back with a 9-0 run over a four-minute stretch with the assistance of five Warrior turnovers.
Back-to-back shots from beyond the arc by Jones and Davian Brown cut the Arizona Christian lead to 18-17. However, the No. 3 team in the NAIA showed its dominance with a 12-0 run to take a 30-17 advantage with 8:11 remaining in the first half.
The Firestorm started the game on fire, shooting 14-of-17 from the field (82.4%). ACU extended its lead to 19 points. Hamilton and Jones scored the final four points for LC State of the half while not allowing a field goal in the final 5:24 to cut the lead to 43-28.
In the second half, Arizona Christian jumped out to a 21-point advantage before the Warrior defense clamped down. LC State held the Firestorm scoreless for 3:21 and went on a 6-0 run.
Arizona Christian again extended the lead to 21. The Warriors rained 3-pointers as Raynor hit three and Brown added one in a three-minute stretch to cut the lead to 64-52 with 8:21 left. Raynor added a floater to cut the lead to 10 with 6:35 remaining.
Lorenzo Marsh hit a 3-ball and Raynor crossed the 20-point plateau with a layup to cut the margin to nine with 2:22 to go. It was the first time the Warriors had cut the lead to single-digits in the second half.
“I liked our fight, but it took us much too long to get into a rhythm offensively and defensively,” Johnson said. “ACU came out and imposed their will from the jump.”
The Firestorm had five players in double-figures and shot 27-of-47 (57.4%) from the field. Dennis Flowers III led the way with 18 points. Mikah Blackwell added 13 and Trent Hudgens finished with 12 in the win.
UP NEXT
Lewis-Clark State travels to Butte, Mont., to participate in the Montana Tech Fall Classic next weekend. The Warriors play Providence (Mont.) on Friday and No. 6 Montana Tech on Saturday.
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