Warriors split at Hillyer’s Mid-City Ford Classic

 12-11-06 

SALEM, Ore. – Lewis-Clark State College senior Chris Pitts had game highs of 19 points and 13 rebounds to help the Lewis-Clark State College men’s basketball team defeat Corban College 68-53 in the opening round of the Hillyer’s Mid-City Ford Classic on Friday.

LCSC, however, ran into a tough Oregon Tech squad on Saturday and fell 60-56 to finish the tournament at 1-1. The Warriors now stand 6-4 on the season.

LCSC, which defeated Corban 74-56 earlier in the season in Lewiston, again was in control in the game matching teams with the nickname of Warriors.  LCSC used a 20-8 run to end the first half to take a 38-25 halftime lead. LCSC’s biggest lead in the second half was 18 at 68-50 with 2:06 remaining in the game.

LCSC hit 28-of-58 shots for 48.3 percent. Teran Lee and Napoleon Gordon added 14 and nine points, respectively for LCSC.

LCSC’s defense held Corban to just 35 percent from the field, 21-of-60, and only allowed Corban to take seven free throws in the contest.

Corban fell to 1-11 with the loss.

In Saturday’s contest, Oregon Tech remained undefeated at 13-0 with the win over LCSC. The Warriors trailed by nine with just 2:45 left, but  cut the margin to four with 50 seconds left and had a chance to make it closer but turned the ball over with 13 seconds left. Two free throws with nine seconds left iced the game for Oregon Tech.

LCSC had trouble scoring early, managing only nine points in nearly the first 10 minutes of the game. LCSC hit only 9-of-23 shots in the first half (39.1 percent) before warming up to finish 22-of-48 (45.8 percent). LCSC was just 3-of-14 at the 3-point line and also committed 26 turnovers in the contest.

Defensively, the Warriors forced 21 turnovers and held Oregon Tech to just 23-of-57 shooting (40.4 percent).

Lee led the Warriors with 11 points and five rebounds, while Kevin Ochoa added 10.

LCSC is back in action on Friday at home against Biola University.