LEWISTON, Idaho – Junior guard Marcus Monroe scored a game-high 27 points and senior guard Daniel Williams added a career-high 15 points – all in the second half – to help the Lewis-Clark State College men’s basketball team remain undefeated on the young season with an 81-56 win over Northwest Christian University at the LCSC Activity Center on Monday night.
The Warriors, 2-0 overall, never trailed in the contest and used a solid defensive effort early to roll to a 27-7 lead. The Beacons, 0-1, never got closer than 12 the rest of the way.
LCSC coach Tim Walker said he was pleased with the team’s defensive pressure early, especially with denying the ball from going inside.
The Warriors held Northwest Christian to single-digit scoring for more than 16 minutes before the Beacons went on a 8-0 run. LCSC led 38-19 at halftime and held the Beacons to just 29.2 percent shooting from the field during the first 20 minutes.
Overall, the Beacons hit 19-of-54 shots for 35.2 percent and just 8-of-28 3-point attempts for 28.6 percent. Walker said despite some lapses, the Warriors played well defensively in the game.
Monroe, a 6-foot-2 transfer from Glendale Community College in California, showed his ability to draw fouls on the offensive end by driving to the basket. He finished 11-of-13 at the foul line to help the Warriors go 21-of-25 at the stripe. He also finished 7-of-17 from the field and added two of the Warriors’ 11 steals.
Williams, who had a season-high 14 points last year in his first season with the Warriors, topped that total with a 5-of-9 effort from the field and a 5-of-6 total at the foul line. After being held scoreless in the opening half, the 6-4 senior had 15 of the Warriors’ 43 points in the second half. He also finished with six assists and tied for the team-high in rebounds with six.
Derek Gianukakis, a junior transfer from the Community Colleges of Spokane, added 11 points and six rebounds. LCSC had six players finish with 4-6 rebounds to help the Warriors control a 40-32 rebounding edge.
The Warrior offense nearly shot 50 percent from the field. LCSC finished 27-of-55 from the field for 49.1 percent.
The Warrior bench outscored Northwest Christian 29-17 and outscored the Beacons in the paint 24-10.
LCSC faces a tough week with a pair of exhibition games against NCAA Division I opponents. LCSC travels to Missoula, Mont., to face the University of Montana on Friday at 6 p.m., and then travels to Pullman next Monday to face Washington State University at 7 p.m.
LCSC’s next regular-season action comes when it plays host to a four-team tournament on Nov. 13-14 at Lewiston High School. LCSC will be joined by Warner Pacific, Vanguard, and Carroll.
