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SALT LAKE CITY -- A week after their school-record 11-game
winning streak was snapped, the Lewis-Clark State men are faced with a new
string. And this is a trend they'd love to ditch.
With a frigid second-half offensive performance, LCSC gradually lost touch with Westminster and suffered a 77-55 Frontier Conference setback Saturday evening. It was the 14th-ranked Warriors' second straight loss, sending them to 19-4 overall and 3-2 in conference.
L-C led by two at half. But when the Griffins switched to their zone defense, the Warriors' scoring became sporadic. Westminster outpaced them 40-16 over the final 20 minutes.
"We had some bad offensive possessions, had some bad breaks," LCSC coach George Pfeifer said. "Then I thought we unraveled. ... We didn't do a very good job at all of attacking their zone."
Four minutes into the second half, the game was tied. But the Griffins ripped off a 23-6 run over the next 10 minutes.
Both Pfeifer and Danny Allen were called for technical fouls during that spree, hastening the Warriors' decline.
Allen was the only L-C player in double figures, scoring 13 points. Leading scorer Joey Ray managed eight points on 3-for-5 shooting.
Westminster's Adam Hiatt, the top scorer in the conference, chucked in 26 points while Matt Mark added 19 points on 9-for-10 shooting. With the victory, the Griffins improved to 15-8 and 3-2.
The Warriors were without starting post James Idoko, who was out with a back injury. Ray was playing with a slightly sprained ankle.
Also, forward Martin Brothers had to change his jersey after vomiting on it early in the game. Pfeifer said Brothers has been suffering from the flu.
After a 1-2 road swing, L-C will be home next week, facing Great Falls on Thursday and Montana State-Northern on Saturday.
"Obviously we enjoy playing at home," Pfeifer said. "But we need to figure out how to play in a tough spot on the road. ... We certainly didn't do that tonight."
LEWIS-CLARK STATE (19-4, 3-2)
Allen 5-8 1-1 13, Frazier 2-6 0-0 4, Young 0-0 0-0 0, Ball 0-1 2-2 2, Ray 3-5 0-0 8, Pecht 0-0 0-0 0, Hansen 1-2 0-0 3, Brothers 3-4 1-1 7, Endsley 2-7 2-2 6, Pitts 3-3 0-0 6, Tikker 1-5 0-0 2, Trombley 2-5 0-1 4. Totals 22-46 6-7 55.
WESTMINSTER (14-8, 3-2)
Butler 3-3 2-3 9, Cramer 1-3 1-2 4, Roberts 0-1 0-0 0, Hiatt 7-14 9-10 26, Buroker 0-0 0-0 0, Sanchez 1-2 0-0 2, Booth 4-7 6-8 14, Mark 9-10 1-2 19, Rajamaki 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 26-41 20-27 77.
Halftime score -- LCSC 39, WC 37. Three-point goals -- LCSC 5-14 (Allen 2-3, Frazier 0-2, Ball 0-1, Ray 2-4, Hansen 1-2, Endsley 0-2); WC 5-9 (Butler 1-1, Cramer 1-1, Roberts 0-1, Hiatt 3-6). Rebounds -- LCSC 17 (three with 3); WC 24 (Sanchez 4). Assists -- LCSC 8 (Frazier 3); WC 15 (Butler 5). Total fouls -- LCSC 18; WC 16. Fouled out -- Allen. Technical fouls -- Allen, LCSC coach Pfeifer, Westminster bench. Attendance -- 600.
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