Warriors finish with flurry
Copyright The Trib

After five consecutive losses -- some of which came in bewildering fashion -- the Lewis-Clark State men were bound to encounter some good karma. And in their regular-season finale Saturday night, they finally met up with it.

The Warriors went bananas from 3-point range, burying 13 of 25 attempts in an 82-57 destruction of Montana-Western at the Activity Center.

Besides snapping that troubling losing streak, this victory seems to give LCSC a nudge of momentum heading into the Frontier Conference tournament at Butte, Mont. The sixth-seeded Warriors (13-15, 6-8) will take on No. 3 Rocky Mountain in a first-round contest Thursday at 3 p.m. PST.

In order to make its third consecutive trip to the NAIA national tournament, LCSC will have to win the FC tournament.

"We really wanted to come in tonight and send a message to Western and the rest of the conference," said Jonathan Burnett, who went 6-for-8 from 3-point range and scored 23 points. "We think -- the 12 guys in here plus the coaching staff -- we think that we're better than the sixth seed in the Frontier Conference."

At least offensively, this was a complete turnaround for the Warriors. They started this week averaging 69.7 points per game -- the lowest mark in the conference, and near the back end of the national rankings.

But they popped some offensive fireworks near the end of the first half. In a 4 1/2-minute span, LCSC hashed out a 16-3 blitz, which included two 3-pointers from Burnett, one from Keith Scarbrough and a three-point play by Spencer Bishop.

The run gave the Warriors a 12-point halftime lead, and they spent the second half expanding the margin.

So why did this keen shooting touch suddenly materialize?

"I think they were determined to come out and end on a better note," LCSC coach Tim Walker said. "It just all starts with your attitude and competing. If you're competing and you're on an edge all the time, you're going to make shots."

During the losing streak, the Warriors really were trying to score, Burnett said.

"I just don't want people to get the wrong idea, like we haven't been busting our butts and working hard every day," the 6-foot-2 point guard said. "Just sometimes the ball just doesn't got through the basket. We have been going through that non-shooting-itis ... or whatever you want to call it."

The Warriors also got 16 points from Scarbrough, who connected on four 3-pointers, and 11 from Bishop. Jared Tikker added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The Warriors, who have the lowest points-against average in the NAIA, limited the Bulldogs (13-17, 7-7) to 35.8-percent shooting.

"If we can keep people at 60," Walker said, "we always feel we're going to be in the game and have a chance to win it."

NOTES -- Most of the LCSC fans in attendance were probably surprised when two seniors were honored before the game. Bishop, a former junior transfer, has been with the program for two years. But Burnett, who only joined the Warriors this season, and only became eligible to play after the fall semester, is also ending his career. His junior listing in the LCSC program is incorrect, Walker said.

MONTANA-WESTERN (13-17, 7-7)

Feenstra 2-5 1-2 5, Cox 3-13 2-2 9, Palmer 4-11 2-2 12, Graham 1-4 0-0 3, Morales 5-9 5-6 15, Hartman 2-5 0-0 5, Lagge 0-1 1-2 1, Ori 2-5 2-2 7. Totals 19-53 13-16 57.

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (13-15, 6-8)

Tikker 6-11 1-4 13, Pitts 1-3 0-0 2, Scarbrough 6-12 0-0 16, Burnett 7-13 3-4 23, Bishop 4-6 3-3 11, Durrett 2-6 2-2 7, Brooks 1-4 0-0 3, Orr 0-1 0-0 0, Thompson 1-3 2-3 4, Ward 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 29-63 11-16 82.

Halftime score -- LCSC 38, UMW 26. Three-point goals -- UMW 6-19 (Cox 1-5, Palmer 2-6, Graham 1-2, Morales 0-1, Hartman 1-2, Ori 1-3); LCSC 13-25 (Tikker 0-1, Scarbrough 4-9, Burnett 6-8, Bishop 0-1, Durrett 1-1, Brooks 1-3, Orr 0-1, Ward 1-1). Rebounds -- UMW 30 (Graham 6); LCSC 41 (Tikker 11). Assists -- UMW 12 (Hartman 4); LCSC 16 (Tikker 4). Total fouls -- UMW 13; LCSC 12. Technical fouls -- none. Fouled out -- none.