Men falter early, lose in overtime
Copyright of the Lewiston Morning Tribune

HELENA, Mont. -- The Lewis-Clark State College men's basketball team suffered an overtime defeat at the hands of Frontier Conference foe Carroll College on Saturday night.

But as far as Warrior coach George Pfeifer was concerned, the game was won -- and lost -- in the first half.

Carroll toppled L-C 86-77 after outscoring the eighth-ranked Warriors 14-5 in the extra period. That negating LCSC's second-half surge.

The Warriors were outscored 42-33 over the game's first 20 minutes.

"In the first half we gave up a bunch of transition layups and baskets and got ourselves in a hole," said Pfeifer, whose team drops to 19-6 overall and 7-2 in FC play. "The game was lost for us, in hindsight, with what we did in the first half."

L-C stormed back in the second half, building a 67-60 lead with 3 minutes, 38 seconds remaining. But Carroll closed the gap with a four-point play on what Pfeifer deemed a questionable call.

"I don't think we fouled him, but they got the four-point play and all of a sudden it was a donnybrook," Pfeifer said.

The Saints had a chance to go ahead in the waning moments of regulation, but L-C blocked their potential game-winner, making way for John Moore's desperation heave from 18 feet at the buzzer. The shot missed, forcing the extra period.

The Warriors scored the first two points of overtime, then Carroll took over. Foul trouble became a factor down the stretch, according to Pfeifer. Three Warriors wound up fouling out.

"We were pretty short-handed by that point," Pfeifer said. "We had a pile of guys foul out."

L-C also suffered from a discrepancy at the foul line. Carroll converted 27 of 38 attempts to the Warriors' 10-for-15 showing.

L-C was looking to spoil an opponent's home-winning streak for the second straight outing. The Warriors had handed Rocky Mountain its first home loss of the season on Thursday and were looking to snap Carroll's 13-game streak at home.

"We took them to the brink," Pfeifer said. "I'm proud of the way we fought in a very adverse environment and found a way to get the lead."

Martin Brothers led the Warriors with 21 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the field, and teammate Danny Allen went 7-for-13 from the field and finished with 18 points. Moore added 14 points and seven rebounds.

Carroll, 19-5 and 7-2, got 18 points from Jeff Hays and Sinan Guler.

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (19-6, 7-2)

Moore 7-12 0-0 14, Idoko 2-4 1-2 5, Brothers 9-10 3-3 21, Allen 7-13 0-0 18, Bishop 0-0 2-2 2, Jaekel 0-1 0-0 0, Ray 1-6 1-1 3, Fraser 2-6 0-0 5, Wilson 0-0 1-2 1, Pitts 1-1 0-2 2, Tikker 2-3 2-3 6. Totals 31-56 10-15 77.

CARROLL (19-5, 7-2)

Leslie 2-5 7-8 13, Hays 6-15 3-6 18, Guler 5-11 4-6 18, Brown 6-10 4-6 16, Gustafson 1-3 5-6 7, Turcott 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 2-3 4-5 8, Brumwell 3-4 0-1 6, Johnson 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 27-38 86.

Halftime score -- Carroll 42, Lewis-Clark State 33. Three-point goals -- L-C 5-16 (allen 4-7, Jaekel 0-1, Ray 0-4, Fraser 1-4), Carroll 9-23 (Leslie 2-4, Hays 3-8, Guler 4-8, Williams 0-1, Johnson 0-2). Rebounds -- L-C 31 (Moore 7, Idoko 7), Carroll 31 (Hays 9, Brown 9). Assists -- L-C 14 (Allen 3, Ray 3), Carroll 20 (Hays 6). Total fouls -- L-C 30, Carroll 17. Fouled out -- Idoko, Fraser, Pitts, Gustafson. Technical fouls -- Idoko. Att -- 2,785.