Men suffer first Frontier loss
Copyright of The Tribune

HAVRE, Mont. -- An inside basket from Martin Brothers that appeared to tie the game was wiped out by a charge call, and the Lewis-Clark State men ended up with a 58-56 loss to Montana State-Northern on Saturday.

The Frontier Conference setback snapped the Warriors' nine-game winning streak. L-C, ranked ninth in the NAIA, now stands at 16-5 and 4-1.

The Warriors were down five with about a minute remaining when Danny Allen buried a 3-pointer. After the Lights missed a free throw, Brothers got position on a small defender. When the 6-foot-8 forward turned and shot, the defender flopped and a foul was called, according to LCSC coach George Pfeifer.

MSU-Northern (11-9, 2-4) then missed another free throw, but the Warriors couldn't convert on their final chance.

The charge call on Brothers wasn't unique. Of L-C's 15 fouls, seven were charges, Pfeifer said.

The Lights held the lead throughout the second half, as they knocked down a pair of 3-pointers shortly after halftime. The Warriors' zone defense -- which had been effective against Great Falls the night before -- allowed MSU-Northern those outside looks.

Allen and James Idoko both put up 12 points apiece. Idoko also tracked down eight rebounds and blocked two shots.

Senior guard Joey Ray did not play for the second consecutive game. When asked about Ray's absence Friday, Pfeifer responded, "He missed the bus."

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (16-5, 4-1)

Moore 4-9 0-0 8, Idoko 4-5 4-5 12, Brothers 4-5 1-3 9, Allen 5-11 0-1 12, Bishop 0-4 2-2 2, Fraser 0-0 0-0 0, Orr 0-0 0-0 0, Wilson 2-4 0-0 5, Pitts 1-2 0-0 2, Tikker 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 23-45 7-11 56.

MSU-NORTHERN (11-9, 2-4)

Stovall 3-8 1-2 7, Wilson 5-9 0-0 10, Matthews 5-11 2-3 15, Grant 2-6 0-0 6, Bullchild 4-7 0-2 8, Brothers 1-6 1-2 4, Jordan 0-1 0-0 0, Gillespie 0-0 0-0 0, Hutchins 0-0 2-4 2, Birgham 3-4 0-0 6. Totals 23-52 6-13 58.

Halftime score -- MSU-Northern 28, LCSC 23. Three-point goals -- LCSC 3-9 (Allen 2-7, Bishop 0-1, Wilson 1-1); MSU-Northern 6-17 (Matthews 3-6, Grant 2-4, Bullchild 0-1, Brothers 1-5, Jordan 0-1). Rebounds -- LCSC 30 (Idoko, Brothers 8); MSU-Northern 29 (Brigham 7). Assists -- LCSC 5 (Allen, Bishop 2); MSU-Northern 15 (Bullchild 5). Total fouls -- LCSC 15; MSU-Northern 13. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none.