LEWISTON, Idaho – With strong defense in the first half and an offensive eruption in the second, the Lewis-Clark State College men’s basketball team took down Concordia University of Alberta for the second straight night on Wednesday. The Warriors topped the Thunder by a final score of 86-54.
LCSC, now 10-2 on the year, held the Thunder, now 4-8, to just 16 points in the opening half.
“We had some trouble scoring in the first half,” said LCSC head coach Brandon Rinta. “But we didn’t let what we were doing on the offensive end affect our defense.”
The Warriors had a lot of balls rim-out early in the game and ended up shooting 36.6 percent from the field in the first half. However, the team’s defense ensured a 20-point lead at the half, 36-16.
Eight Warriors had at least one steal to help the team finished with 13 thefts overall. Donte Archie led with three swipes, while Ray Stout, Kale Schmidt, and Spencer Drury had two apiece.
Both Stout and Schmidt came off the bench and put up good numbers on the night, leading the team with 12 points apiece. Stout also added five boards and three assists, and Schmidt finished with four assists.
The only other Warrior to score in double-digits was PJ Bolte who worked his way to 11 points to go with eight rebounds, two assists, and a block. Danny Marshall led the team with two blocks.
For the fifth time this season the Warriors hit double-digits in 3-point field goals. Darin Stewart hit three attempts from long range to help the team go 10-of-26 from the outside.
“We have some guys who are capable of knocking down threes, and they’re going to have to do that come conference,” said Rinta about his team’s outlook for the rest of the season.
Four 3-pointers helped the Warriors go on an 18-6 run midway through the second half and push the score to 72-35. The home team had seven treys in the second half.
LCSC, which conquered Concordia 103-65 on Tuesday, outshot the Thunder 47.3 percent to 39.3 percent overall, but the two teams tied in rebounds at 40.
Concordia’s Milos Prijovic had 10 points and nine rebounds, Steffan Favis had 12 points and three rebounds, and Dallas Wright had 10 points and four boards.
Concordia committed 24 turnovers in the game, and LCSC converted these miscues into 21 points.
The next game the Warriors play at home will be a Frontier Conference matchup against Rocky Mountain College on Jan. 12.
“The Frontier Conference is looking real good this year, and we’re excited to get started,” said Rinta after noting his team must first concentrate on the coming road games.
The Warriors next two games will come in Portland, Ore., as they face Portland Bible College on Dec. 30 and then rematch Lewis & Clark College on Dec. 31. LCSC defeated Lewis & Clark 73-58 in a competitive game last weekend.
