SEATTLE - Austen Powers found his mojo and helped the Seattle University men's basketball team find a way to defeat Lewis-Clark State 75-68 in an exhibition game on Thursday night.
Powers, a 6-foot-8 forward, had a jam off a rebound and followed with a 3-pointer on the next possession to key an 9-0 run late in the game to help the Redhawks take the lead for good.
The contest was an exhibition game because Seattle Unviersity is making the transition to NCAA Division I, while LCSC is an NAIA Division I program.
Still, it wasn't until the final two minutes when Seattle could breathe easier.
"We definitely feel like we found our identity tonight," LCSC assistant coach Tim Collins said. "We played well defensively and the players really bought into our defensive mentality. Seattle is a good team and we gave them some trouble."
LCSC led 11-8 early and countered a 15-2 Seattle run in the first half with a 12-4 run of its own to eventually take a 34-33 lead at halftime. Seattle led by as much as 11 in the first half at 26-15, but the Warriors went on a 19-7 run to end the half.
The Warriors led for nearly the first 12 minutes of the second half until Taylor Olson buried a 3-point shot to give Seattle its first lead of the second half. Warrior senior guard Brian Duckworth tied the game on a three-point play, and a jump shot by Drew Arnold put the Warriors bach in front.
The two teams then battled back and forth and the game was eventually tied at 59 with less than four minutes remaining. At that point, Powers scored on a dunk and a 3-pointer to spark the 9-0 run that gave the Redhawks a 66-57 lead.
LCSC twice managed to get the lead down to five points, but couldn't get closer down the stretch.
For the game, LCSC was 26-of-61 shooting from the field for 42.4 percent, while Seattle was 27-of-53 for 50.6 percent. LCSC shot 46.4 percent from the field in the first half, but only 38.4 percent in the second half.
One thing that did help LCSC was a 39-28 rebounding advantage, including 19 offensive boards. LCSC had 21 second-chance points to only 10 for Seattle, but the Redhawks' bench outscored the Warrior bench 24-13.
Senior guard Curtis Allen had a huge night for the Warriors with 22 points. He hit on 8-of-14 shots from the field and also added five rebounds, two assits and two steals.
Brian Duckworth, who missed LCSC's last game with an ankle injury, look sharp as well with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting. He also had four assists, five steals and two boards. Tanner McIntosh led all player with 10 rebounds.
Seattle put four players in double figures, led by Leigh Swanson's 14 points. Powers and Chris Gweth added 12 each, while Mike Boxley had 10.
LCSC will resume action on Sunday when it travels to Butte, Mont., to face Montana Tech at 2 p.m. Although both play in the Frontier Conference, Sunday's contest is a nonleague game.
LCSC's next home game is Wednesday against Walla Walla University with tipoff at 7:30 p.m. at the LCSC Activity Center.
