Duckworth helps LCSC men hold off Carroll 63-60

1-26-08

LEWISTON, Idaho – Junior guard Brian Duckworth (shown left) scored a season-high 23 points and a missed 3-point attempt at the final buzzer help the Lewis-Clark State College men’s basketball team defeat Carroll College 63-60 in Frontier Conference play at the LCSC Activity Center on Saturday night. 

The win was LCSC’s ninth in its last 10 games and helped the Warriors bounce back from their first conference loss on Thursday night. LCSC is now 15-6 on the season and 6-1 in conference play, which leaves them tied for first with Westminster. 

Duckworth had a solid outing as he also led the team in rebounds (7), assists (4) and steals (3) on the night. He scored 10 points during a key stretch of the second half when the Warriors went on an 18-3 run to open up a 55-46 advantage. 

Warrior senior post Mike Gordy picked up a technical foul with 5:09 left, which also counted as his fifth foul. Carroll’s Chad Vaculin hit both technical free throws to start a personal 10-point run as he also hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut LCSC’s lead to 57-56 with 2:52 left. 

Duckworth picked up his final three points on the night on a big 3-pointer, and after Carroll’s Chris Kaschmitter hit two free throws, LCSC’s Rob Comer connected on a 3-pointer with 1:15 left to put the Warriors ahead 63-58.  

Carroll’s Eder Zuniga hit two free throws with 51 seconds left, which turned out to be the final points of the game. LCSC worked the 30-second clock before missing a shot, and Carroll raced the ball up court and called its final timeout with 11 seconds remaining. The Saints tried to get an open look, but Vaculin was forced to attempt an off-balance leaning 3-pointer at the buzzer that missed. 

Carroll falls to 15-7 overall and 3-4 in conference play. 

Napoleon Gordon added 12 points for LCSC--two of those points came off of a thunderous reverse dunk shown in the five frame-photo on the left.

Gordy, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, was in foul trouble all night and played just 11 minutes. He was held to just seven points and didn’t have a rebound. 

Kaschmitter, who grew up about an hour away from Lewiston, had quite a homecoming with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Vaculin tied Duckworth for game-high honors with 23 points, while Zuniga added 10. 

The Frontier Conference teams will take a break from conference play next week and LCSC’s next game is Feb. 9 at home against Westminster.