LEWISTON, Idaho – A strong defensive effort in the first half helped the Lewis-Clark State College men’s basketball team set the tone for the game as the Warriors celebrated Senior Night with a 78-61 win over Montana Western in Frontier Conference play at the LCSC Activity Center on Saturday night. 

LCSC never trailed and led by as much as 26 in the second half in capturing its second straight win to move into a three-way tie for first place in the conference heading into the final weekend. 

LCSC is now 9-3 in the conference standings, tied with Westminster and Rocky Mountain, while both Carroll and Montana State Northern are 8-4, which makes for one of the wildest league title chases in years. LCSC is 18-8 overall. 

Montana Western falls to 2-10 in conference play with its fourth straight loss and 9-17 overall. 

LCSC jumped out to an 11-3 lead and then used consecutive 3-pointers from Brian Duckworth for a 17-5 advantage. The lead remained in double figures the rest of the way despite a strong effort from Bulldog guard Chad Myers, who finished with a game-high 27 points. 

The Warriors held the Bulldogs to just 7-of-28 shooting from the field in the first half, including a 1-of-14 effort at the 3-point line. In the second half, Western warmed up and went 10-of-19 at the 3-point line, including six 3-pointers from Myers.  For the game, Western was 22-of-59 from the field for 37.3 percent, but 33 of the 59 attempts were from the 3-point line. Western made 11 3-pointers to shoot 33 percent from beyond the arc. 

The Warriors shot 50 percent from both the field (25-of-50) and the 3-point arc (11-of-22). LCSC also had a strong night at the foul line, going 17-of-18, including a 13-of-14 performance from Mike Gordy, one of six LCSC seniors who played in their final home game. 

Gordy, the conference’s Co-Player of the Year from last season, finished with 21 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Duckworth added 14 points and five rebounds. Rob Comer also was in double figures with 13 points. 

LCSC held a 32-30 rebounding edge as Jon Daly grabbed a game-high eight boards, and the Warriors also forced 18 turnovers in the contest. 

Every Warrior but one scored in the game and all but two had at least one assist. 

LCSC’s six seniors making their final appearance in front of the home crowd were Gordy, Daly, Comber, Justin Fraser, Caleb Orr, and Karl Stedman. 

LCSC finishes the season with a pair of big games on the road. On Thursday night, LCSC travels to Helena, Mont., to face Carroll at 7 p.m., Pacific time, and then faces Rocky Mountain on Saturday afternoon to complete the regular season. 

LCSC is the defending Frontier Conference regular season and tournament champions.