Warriors come back to beat Westminster 85-84 in overtime

1-5-08

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah--With less than four seconds remaining in the game, Lewis-Clark State College freshman Andrew Packwood hit a shot to tie the game at 75, and force it into overtime. In five minutes of overtime the Lewis-Clark State College men's basketball team outscored Westminster College 10-9, and ended up winning the Frontier Conference opener 85-84 on Saturday.  

Arguably one of the most exciting comeback victories for the Warriors in recent years, LCSC trailed the entire second half including a seven point deficit with just five minutes left in regulation. In overtime, the lead changed hands three times before L-C took an 85-84 advantage with 1:45 left. With only seven seconds left, Packwood missed two foul shots, and the Griffins’ Danny Reeder drove to the other end of the floor to draw a foul with just 0.8 seconds remaining. Reeder, a senior guard, raddled both shots off the rim and LCSC took the game. 

The win marks Lewis-Clark State’s fourth straight victory--and improves its overall record to 10-5 and its conference record to 1-0, and 12th-ranked Westminster falls to 10-3 overall and 0-1 in the conference. 

Led by 6-foot-6 forward Danny Stosich, and 6-foot-8 center Nate Sanchez, the Griffins out-rebounded L-C 34-24 and 12 of those rebounds came on the offensive end. Stosich ended the game with 29 points and 12 rebounds, six offensive and six defensive, and Sanchez finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds.  

Although the Warriors had a hard time containing Westminster’s inside game, they still found a way to make key stops and attack the basket. Senior, Mike Gordy, despite aggressive double-team efforts by Westminster, put up a team leading 25 points with seven rebounds, and five assists. J.R. Gordon had a team leading eight rebounds to go along with his 19 points and four steals, and Brian Duckworth finished with 16 points.  

Jon Daly, who was in foul trouble by halftime, scored eight points and recorded three rebounds before fouling out midway through the second-half. Packwood, one of only two freshmen on the Warriors’ roster, replaced Daly in the post and finished the game with four points and two rebounds. Two of his points ended up making the difference in the game. 

Lewis-Clark State resumes action on Thursday, January 10, against the University of Great Falls inside the LCSC Activity Center.