The undefeated Lewis-Clark State College men’s basketball team continues to map uncharted territory during this magical beginning to the 2013-14 season, climbing to the No. 3 spot in the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 poll, released Tuesday by the national office.

Thanks to an 18-0 start, including consecutive Frontier Conference wins over teams that received votes in the last edition of the rankings Dec. 11, the Warriors vaulted eight spots to No. 3, and were just one point behind second-ranked Columbia (Mo.).

It is the highest an LCSC men’s basketball team has been ranked in program history, surpassing the No. 10 ranking earned by the Warriors this season in the Dec. 4 poll and the preseason ranking of the 2004-05 squad.

“To think of all the great teams that LC has had in the past, it’s an honor to be ranked higher than any of those teams,” Lewis-Clark State coach Brandon Rinta said. “For us to start the season unranked and climb all the way to No. 3 is a testament to our guys and what they’ve been able to accomplish.”

Cumberlands (Ky.) received seven of the 11 possible first-place votes in the poll, and earned 276 overall points, becoming the third No. 1 team in four polls this season (including Preseason rankings).

Columbia, which joins LCSC as the last two remaining unbeaten squads in NAIA Division I, garnered the remaining four first-place votes and 265 overall points.

Lewis-Clark State, which defeated No. 18 Westminster last Thursday and Montana Western on Saturday, got 264 overall points in the paneling of nationwide coaches.

Oklahoma Baptist, the top-ranked team in the last poll, was No. 4, and Pikeville (Ky.) rounded out the top five.

The rankings also represented the overall strength of the Frontier Conference, with LCSC, Westminster and MSU-Northern all among the top 20 teams in the nation.

MSU-Northern, who the Warriors will play in Havre, Mont. on Saturday night, is in a three-way tie at No. 10 in the rankings.

Westminster, who was ranked seventh and the Warriors 11th when the teams squared off the Activity Center on Thursday, fell to No. 18 after consecutive losses over the weekend.

Great Falls also received votes in the poll.

“With those rankings, the Frontier Conference is proving itself as one of the top conferences in the nation,” Rinta said. “It also proves to me that we’re going to be tested every week for the next seven weeks in conference play. It’s fun to be a part of a conference that’s getting this kind of national recognition.”

 

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)	2012 – 13 RECORD	TOTAL POINTS
1	2	Cumberlands (Ky.) (7)	15-1	276
2	6	Columbia (Mo.) (4)	16-0	265
3	11	Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)	18-0	264
4	1	Oklahoma Baptist	14-2	258
5	4	Pikeville (Ky.)	15-1	254
6	10	William Carey (Miss.)	13-2	229
7	3	Lee (Tenn.)	13-1	221
8	5	Westmont (Calif.)	12-3	218
9	14	Science & Arts (Okla.)	8-2	195
T10	22	Montana State-Northern	15-2	186
T10	15	Cal State San Marcos	13-4	186
T10	24	Texas College	13-2	186
13	18	Evangel (Mo.)	11-4	171
14	8	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	15-2	166
15	19	Concordia (Calif.)	11-3	158
16	16	Xavier (La.)	13-3	148
17	17	Bethel (Tenn.)	14-2	143
18	7	Westminster (Utah)	13-3	128
19	9	Rogers State (Okla.)	12-4	127
20	NR	Emmanuel (Ga.)	15-2	117
21	RV	SAGU (Texas)	12-3	94
22	22	Oklahoma City	8-2	81
23	21	Faulkner (Ala.)	14-3	78
24	RV	Culver-Stockton (Mo.)	14-3	61
25	RV	John Brown (Ark.)	12-3	60