PORTLAND, Ore. – People may mix the names of two schools up time and time again, but there was no mistaking which school’s team was in control of the basketball game on Tuesday. The Lewis-Clark State College men’s basketball team rolled past Lewis & Clark College 90-78.
David Johnson was in the driver’s seat of the Warriors’ offense which shot 50.7 percent from the field. The junior scored a season-high 23 points and had three of the team’s 21 assists.
After a slow start for both teams, LCSC gained momentum and pulled to a 25-15 lead with eight minutes left in the first half. The Pioneers, led by 19 points from James Hollins, slowly fought back and cut the lead to five, 40-35, by halftime.
Lewis-Clark State opened the second half with a 7-0 run to capture their largest lead up to that point at 47-35. The Pioneers eventually closed the gap to five points with 3:31 remaining thanks to a jumper by Hollins, but the Warriors didn’t let them get any closer than that.
LCSC had a 42-28 advantage in rebounds including a 15-6 edge in offense boards. Devon Adams led the game with eight rebounds, while Johnson had six and Jeray Key had five.
Besides Johnson, three other Warriors scored in double-digits. Adams had 12, Jeray Key had 12 and six assists, and Donnie Lao had 10 and four assists.
The Warriors, who now at 9-3 are off to their best start since the 2003-2004 season, committed a season-low eight turnovers.
Lewis & Clark, an NCAA Division III school, had four players besides Hollins score in double-digits. Donato Perconti had 17 points, PJ Taylor had 16 points and five rebounds, Kelley Edwards had 12 points and seven rebounds, and Marcus Wells had 10 points and six assists.
Both teams shot well from the foul line as LCSC was 14-of-17 for a season-high percentage of 82.4, while Lewis & Clark was 18-of-19 (94.7 percent).
The Pioneers, which shot 43.9 percent from the field and committed 14 turnovers in the game, are now at 6-3 overall.
Up next on LCSC’s schedule is a meeting with Walla Walla University on Jan. 2. This will be the Warriors’ final game before beginning Frontier Conference play on Jan. 6 at home against Montana Western.
