LCSC men move step closer to claiming FC crown
 2-22-07  

Senior forward Chris Pitts posted his second double-double of the season to lead a strong inside attack and help the Lewis-Clark State College men’s basketball team move closer to the Frontier Conference title with a 76-65 win over Carroll College at the LCSC Activity Center on Thursday night. 

Pitts record 17 points and 13 rebounds as LCSC consistently got the ball inside in the physical contest matching a pair of NAIA Top 25 teams. LCSC, ranked No. 16 in the country improved to 22-6 overall and 11-2 in conference play, while Carroll, ranked No. 23, fell to 19-9 and 9-4 and saw its title hopes end with the setback. 

The Warriors are a game ahead of Westminster in the conference standings and can claim the regular season title and the top seed to next week’s conference tournament with a win Saturday night against Rocky Mountain at the Activity Center. Westminster can still tie LCSC for the title and the top seed in the conference tournament would then go to a tiebreaker.

(Chris Pitts scoring 2 of his 17, and drawing the foul) 

LCSC, which lost at Carroll earlier this season, attempted only seven 3-point shots in the game. Instead, the Warriors went inside where Pitts, Mike Gordy, Jared Tikker and Steve Thompson combined for 43 points. 

Carroll, which had the height to match up with LCSC, didn’t have the strength and size as LCSC held a 35-27 rebounding edge, including 11 offensive boards. With Carroll unable to stop the Warriors’ inside attack, it had to foul to stop easy buckets. The Warriors responded by making 21-of-26 free throws. 

LCSC freshman point guard Napoleon Gordon led all players with 19 points, but several came on drives to the basket inside. Teran Lee added 12 points, but 10 came at the foul line after being fouled on drives to the basket. Lee also had six assts, while Gordy had 10 points and seven rebounds, and Thompson had nine points and seven boards. 

Dallas Leslie, who hit 5-of-8 3-point attempts, had 18 points to pace Carroll, while Eric Henkel added 14 and Sam Grantham 10. 

For the game, LCSC hit 26-of-54 shots for 48.1 percent, while Carroll was 26-of-58 for 44.8 percent. 

The conference tournament begins next Wednesday in Butte.