Men break through at RMC
Copyright of the Lewiston Morning Tribune

BILLINGS, Mont. -- After getting off to a disjointed start, the Lewis-Clark State men's basketball team played effectively down the stretch and claimed a rare road win over Rocky Mountain on Thursday night.

The Warriors, who trailed by 11 points early in the second half, rallied for a 75-69 Frontier Conference victory. LCSC, ranked eighth in the NAIA, improved to 19-5 and 7-1.

"I was really pleased with our mentality, particularly in the last 10 minutes," Warriors coach George Pfeifer said. "When we needed to get stops, we got stops."

Three minutes into the second half, the Bears stretched their lead to 11 points. But L-C rattled off a sudden rally and was within three points with 14:22 left.

The Warriors eventually went up by seven points with three minutes left. But Rocky Mountain answered with a four-point play from Wes Morales.

In the final seconds, however, Morales inadvertently helped L-C. With the margin two points, he fouled the Warriors' John Moore, and was then called for a technical foul. Moore and Danny Allen combined to hit four foul shots that secured the win.

Allen, L-C's leading scorer, tossed in 21 points.

"Danny Allen saved us in the first half," Pfeifer said. "He had seven points in four possessions in the first half. That kind of stopped the bleeding."

Martin Brothers added 18 points while Moore notched 10 points and five boards. James Idoko also came up with six points and 12 boards.

This was the Warriors' first win at Billings since 2002.

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (19-5, 7-1)

Moore 4-7 2-2 10, Idoko 1-6 4-6 6, Brothers 6-8 6-9 18, Allen 6-10 8-9 21, Bishop 0-1 0-0 0, Ray 3-6 0-0 8, Fraser 1-2 0-0 3, Wilson 1-2 3-4 5, Pitts 1-1 0-1 2, Tikker 0-3 0-0 2. Totals 24-46 23-31 75.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN (14-10, 3-5)

Gomendi 1-4 2-2 4, Ellis 5-11 1-2 13, Kunkel 1-6 0-0 2, Stack 0-1 8-10 8, Cook 6-9 7-9 1, Miller 2-9 1-2 6, Cooper 1-2 0-0 2, Moralex 3-5 5-7 13. Tollefson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 20-49 24-32 69.

Halftime score -- RMC 36, LCSC 28. Total fouls -- LCSC 26, RMC 26. Fouled out -- Ray, Kunkel, Stack. Technical fouls -- Kunkel, Morales. Three-point shots -- LCSC 4-12 (Ray 2-5, Allen 1-4, Fraser 1-2, Wilson 0-1), RMC 5-15 (Morales 2-3, Ellis 2-7, Miller 1-4, Tollefson 0-1). Rebounds -- LCSC 34 (Idoko 12), RMC 26 (Cook 8). Assists -- LCSC 6 (three with 2), RMC 14 (Stack 6).