LEWIS-CLARK ( IDAHO ) SURVIVES PIKEVILLE (KY) UPSET BID, 67-65

( Kansas City , Mo. )—Tenth-seed Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho) survived a scare from unseeded Pikeville College (Ky.), winning by a final score of 67-65 on Thursday in the opening round of the 67^th Annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship at Municipal Auditorium.

        A pair of free throws with three seconds on the clock from senior guard-forward Custin Endsley proved to be the difference as the Warriors overcame an eight-point second-half deficit to claim the victory.  Junior guard Joey Ray led the come-from-behind victory with 18 points, including three three-pointers, while junior guard Danny Allen and junior forward Martin Brothers each chipped in 11 points.  Brothers also pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds in the win.

        Lewis-Clark went up 15-8 on a three-pointer by senior guard Ricky Frazier with 11:42 to go in the first half, but Pikeville outscored the Warriors 22-10 the rest of the way to take a 30-25 lead heading into the locker room.  Pikeville got nine points off the bench from junior guard Daniel Price, while senior center Teon Knox snared nine first-half rebounds to help the Bears establish their halftime lead.  The Bears also limited the Warriors to just 27 percent first-half shooting (10-of-37).

        The Warriors used 55.2 percent second-half shooting to advance to the second round and improve to 25-5 on the season.  They will play the winner of the game between Oklahoma City University (18-11) and No. 7 seed Columbia College ( Mo. ) (32-3) at 8 p.m. (CST) on Friday.

        Junior guard Jarrell Jones led Pikeville with 17 points.  Knox finished the game with nine points and 14 rebounds while Price chipped in 12 points in the loss.  The Bears wrap up the season with a record of 26-8.