PORTLAND, Ore. – Sam Stockton did it all for the Warriors on Saturday to help LC State to a 93-78 win over Warner Pacific. The senior finished the night with a double-double on 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to go with seven assists.
Jaedon Bradley led the contest with 25 points with five 3-pointers to match Quentin Raynor from beyond the arc.
Making the victory even more impressive, the score was tied 45-45 at the half. LC State outscored WPU 48-33 in the final 20 minutes with the help of 46 points off the bench in the contest.
“Super proud of our guys for coming out after halftime with a better defensive mindset,” Head Coach Austin Johnson said. “Credit to Warner Pacific as they scored at will in the first half, but our guys showed a ton of poise which was encouraging. I thought Sam really controlled the game. Proud to see him steady us a bit when things weren’t going well. JB (Bradley) and Quentin were great off the bench and John (Lustig) has put together a string of good games. We’ll need to be much better tomorrow against Multnomah. Excited to see how we respond.”
The victory has LC State at 12-5 overall and 10-1 in Cascade Conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Alton Hamilton and Sam Stockton had the score tied 4-4 in the early minutes before each adding on to give LC an 8-6 edge. John Lustig scored at 16:15 to make it 10-6, and Jaedon Bradley and Stockton each found the basket to keep the slim lead for the Warriors.
With WPU within one, Quentin Raynor nailed a pair of 3s, but the Knights answered to even the score 22-22 midway through the half.
Hamilton broke the tie with a foul shot and Bradley grew the advantage to 26-22 with a 3-pointer at 9:15. Stockton tipped a ball in to cap the six-point run. Warner Pacific scored five, then back-to-back 3s by Bradley and Raynor made it 34-27 at 6:57.
The Knights took the lead with 4:37 to play in the half with two straight 3-pointers. WPU pulled ahead 41-36 before a 3 by Lustig and free throws by Bradley evened things up with 2:24 to go. Fouls shots by Hamilton and a dunk by Lustig kept the score knotted in the final minute and the score sat tied 45-45 at the half.
Davian Brown, Hamilton and Lustig combined to start the second half with a run of five but WPU answered to go basket-for-basket. Bradley, Brown and Raynor kept the 3s coming to match the Knights’ attack. Lustig threw down another dunk and Bradley followed with a triple to give the Warriors a 71-62 advantage at the halfway point of the frame.
Four points from Hamilton in the span of a minute kept the momentum with LC State, and a jumper by Stockton had the lead at 77-66 with 8:19 on the clock. Bradley continued his day with two free throws, a 3 and a layup in 90 seconds to increase the margin to 86-68 with 6:21 to play.
The Warriors cruised through the final minutes of the contest to seal the 93-78 victory.
Bradley led all scorers with 25 points and Lustig added 16. Raynor scored 15 and Stockton notched his double-double with 12 points and a career-high 11 boards. The senior stuffed the stats sheet with seven assists and two blocks. He went 4-for-5 from the field and was 4-for-4 at the free throw line.
UP NEXT
The Warriors wrap up the weekend at Multnomah on Sunday at 3 p.m. No fans are allowed due to dangerous weather conditions in the Portland area. Links to live coverage are available on lcwarriors.com.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
