“We played well tonight,” said head coach Brandon Rinta, whose team is now 12-0 on the year. “We were a little bit stale for a couple of games there, but tonight we took a step in the right direction. We played with a lot of energy and did a great job of taking care of the ball.”
Despite being undefeated, Rinta has continually stressed the need for his team commit fewer turnovers. On Saturday, LCSC limited its miscues to just 13, and the result was an unending onslaught of Warrior offense.
“We did a much better job of taking care of the basketball. We were making the easy pass and not trying to force it as much. We want to play fast, but we also want to play smart. And if we can take care of the basketball we’ve proven that we can score.”
And score they did.
The Warriors took a big lead early on, had 52 points by halftime, and continued to add to the lead in the second half.
Four Warriors scored in double-digits. PJ Bolte had a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds, Derrick Wofford had 20 points, and Donte Archie and Tommy Sperry added 15 points apiece. It was a career high for Sperry, a freshman from Clarkston, Wash.
LCSC finished with a 41-27 advantage in rebounds, and outshot the Wildcats 60 to 38 percent.
“We had a size advantage on them and we did a good job on the glass. But defensively we had good energy tonight. They have some good offensive weapons that we did a good job defending.”
Portland Bible, now 12-5, made just 6-of-25 attempts from the outside, while the Warriors were 5-of-12.
Led by six steals by Wofford, the Warriors had 11 steals overall and forced PBC, a member of the National Christian Collegiate Athletics Assocation (NCCAA), into 18 turnovers.
LCSC had 19 assists on the day. Bolte and Robert Ellis had five apiece, and Trey Sobotta had four.
After eight straight games on the road, the Warriors will finally return home next week when they kickoff Frontier Conference play on Saturday against the University of Great Falls (8-4). Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
“We are looking forward to getting conference started, but more importantly we’re looking forward to coming home and getting back in front of our fans.”
