HAVRE, Mont. - The Lewis-Clark State College men's basketball team couldn't sustain its solid defensive effort over the final 10 minutes and fell to Montana State University-Northern 67-56 in a Frontier Conference contest on Saturday night.
The Warriors, who saw their four-game win streak snapped, fell to 7-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play, while MSU-Northern improves to 13-5 overall and also 1-1 in the league.
LCSC led 42-37 with about 10 minutes remaining, but the Lights managed to score 30 points in the final 10 minutes to overtake LCSC and pull away. MSU-Northern used a 20-8 run to grab a 57-50 lead and the final margin was its largest lead.
"It's a tough one to lose on the road," LCSC assistant coach Tim Collins said. "We did a great job defensively in the first half. We really defended the 3 (3-point shot) well, but we just didn't take care of the basketball to extend our lead.
The Warriors didn't take their first lead until late in the first half when they grabbed a 19-18 advantage. LCSC also led 26-25 at halftime as MSU-Northern was only 3-of-17 from the 3-point arc. LCSC, however, committed 16 turnovers in the first half.
In the second half, the Lights went 6-of-11 from the 3-point line.
"In the second half we didn't get out on their 3-point shooters and they hit the open shots," Collins said. "We did a pretty decent job, but didn't get it done."
The Warriors, already shorted-handed at point guard with JR Gordon out for the season with a back injury and freshman Daniel Simon also sidelined for about a month with an injury, were even thinner against the Lights. Freshman Terrell Wallace spent most of the day in the hospital because of dehydration from the flu. He managed to play a couple of minutes, but that left LCSC with only eight healthy players and junior Daniel Williams at point guard instead of his usual swing guard spot.
"Our effort was great and I think we're starting to come together as a team," Collins said. "The team really played hard tonight."
Curtis Allen and Drew Arnold finished with 15 points apiece for LCSC, while James Craft and Brian Duckworth had seven each. Tanner McIntosh led the team in rebounding with 10.
Chris Johnson led the Lights with 25 points, including 15 in the second half..
The Warriors return to action on Thursday with their home opener in league play. LCSC takes on Montana Western at 8 p.m., and then plays host to Montana Tech on Saturday, also at 8 p.m.
