Unveiled with victories; Warrior men register gritty 72-61 conference win over No. 14 Saints
Copyright of The Lewiston Morning Tribune

On its opening night, the Lewis-Clark State Activity Center gleamed like the school officials hoped it would. The 3,300 in attendance -- some L-C regulars, some visiting dignitaries -- spent most of evening drinking in the gym's crisp newness.

But the second part of Thursday's doubleheader was a matchup of longtime Frontier Conference rivals. And new arena or not, they put on the sort of hairy battle they always wage.

With an early flourish to open the second half, the LCSC men built a modest edge over 14th-ranked Carroll, then made it stand up for a 72-61 victory. That completed a Warrior sweep of the visitors from Helena, Mont., who had the unfortunate assignment of facing L-C on the building's opening night.

In the first five minutes of the second half, Warrior sharpshooter Joey Ray stuck two 3-pointers. Those buckets were part of a run that turned L-C's two-point halftime edge into a nine-point margin.

It obviously wasn't a decisive lead, and the Saints seemed to be on the verge of a comeback the rest of the contest. But Carroll never climbed closer than six behind.

It was both teams' conference opener, but the intensity was at postseason levels. The paint-dwellers wrestled with vigor. The Warrior guards bodied up on Carroll's lanky backcourt. And the deadball jostling between L-C's Martin Brothers and the Saints' Ross Gustafson brought an official's attention at one point.

"We told our kids before the game there are 14 of these (conference games)," Warriors coach George Pfeifer said. "And they're all going to be dogfights, just like this one was. ... There were no babies allowed inside the painted area tonight. There was some hand-to-hand combat going on in there.

"And they were just as physical as we were," he added, "but I liked the way we battled down in there."

LCSC (13-4) was paced by John Moore, who glided his way to 20 points. Ray added 18 points -- he went 4-for-7 from 3-point range -- while Brothers recorded 11 points and six boards.

The Warriors also got a pair of late 3-pointers from Skyler Wilson, rugged inside play from James Idoko and stellar defense from Spencer Bishop.

Said Pfeifer, "I guess what I'm really pleased with is different guys at different times tonight made baskets for us."

The Saints (12-4) got typical production from their starters, with Jeff Hays (16 points), Sinan Guler (15) and Gustafson (13) leading the way. But their bench totaled just two points.

Meanwhile, the Warriors had the backing of more fans than they've ever had.

"That's the biggest crowd we've had since conference championship -- and they weren't even our fans," Brothers said. "This was all our fans. We were in a nice atmosphere, just like playing up at Gonzaga or Washington State. So to bring that home -- and now we've got a game under our belt at home -- it'll take the pressure off."

Brothers, who said he has explored every corner of the arena, approved of the Warriors' new home.

"It's a pretty building -- especially the view looking out on the baseball field (from the conference room)," he said. "That's pretty."

But on the court Thursday night, the play was wonderfully gritty.

CARROLL (12-4, 0-1)

Paulson 3-10 2-2 9, Hays 5-11 2-2 16, Guler 7-15 0-0 15, Brown 2-4 2-4 6, Gustafson 6-10 1-2 13, Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Brumell 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Leslie 0-2 0-0 0, Brelje 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-56 7-10 61.

LCSC (13-4, 1-0)

Moore 9-12 2-2 20, Brothers 3-8 5-7 11, Pitts 1-1 0-0 2, Allen 1-7 2-2 5, Ray 7-11 0-0 18, Bishop 0-1 0-0 0, Orr 0-0 0-0 0, Wilson 3-4 0-0 9, Idoko 2-4 1-2 5, Tikker 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 27-50 10-13 72.

Three-point goals -- Carroll 6-20 (Paulson 1-4, Hays 4-7, Guler 1-5, Gustafson 0-2, Williams 0-1, Leslie 0-1); LCSC 8-15 (Allen 1-3, Ray 4-7, Bishop 0-1, Wilson 3-4). Rebounds -- Carroll 29 (Hays 7); LCSC 30 (Idoko 8). Assists -- Carroll 13 (Hays 4); LCSC 12 (Allen 6). Total fouls -- Carroll 14; LCSC 15. Technical fouls -- none. Fouled out -- none. Attendance -- 3,300.