Athletics - Lewis-Clark State

After a pair of victories last week, the Lewis-Clark State College men’s basketball team moved up to No. 3 in the NAIA Division I Coaches’ Top 25 poll, matching both its highest ranking this season and in program history.

The Warriors were also No. 3 in the Jan. 8 and Jan. 15 editions of the poll, all of which are voted on by a nationwide paneling of coaches.

LCSC (21-2 overall, 7-2 Frontier Conference) defeated Carroll on Thursday and No. 15 MSU-Northern on Saturday at the Activity Center, and regained sole possession of first place in the Frontier Conference as a result.

The Warriors received 254 points in the poll, released Tuesday by the national office.

Columbia (Mo.) stayed atop the rankings for the third consecutive week, earning 281 points and extending its record to 22-0. The Cougars received all 11 first place votes in the poll.

Lee (Tenn.) also held steady at No. 2, garnering 272 overall points and staying 18 points clear of LCSC at No. 3.

Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Westmont (Calif.) rounded out the top five spots in the rankings.

The Warriors head back out on the road this Saturday to take on No. 19 Westminster at Behnken Field House in Salt Lake City. The Griffins (18-4, 5-3 league) have won their last five games following a three-game losing streak that began with an 80-75 defeat in Lewiston on Jan. 3.

No. 3 LCSC joins No. 15 MSU-Northern, No. 19 Westminster and Montana Western (RV) as Frontier Conference teams recognized in this week’s rankings.

2012 - 13 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll - (Jan. 29)

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)	2012 – 13 RECORD	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	Columbia (Mo.) (11)	22-0	281
2	2	Lee (Tenn.)	19-1	272
3	4	Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)	21-2	254
4	7	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	19-2	252
5	6	Westmont (Calif.)	18-3	250
6	4	John Brown (Ark.)	18-4	237
7	3	Pikeville (Ky.)	18-3	228
8	9	Cal State San Marcos	18-4	211
9	10	Oklahoma Baptist	18-4	208
10	14	Emmanuel (Ga.)	20-2	194
11	12	Bethel (Tenn.)	20-2	188
12	15	Hope International (Calif.)	20-2	171
13	11	Xavier (La.)	18-4	167
14	16	SAGU (Texas)	18-3	163
15	13	Montana State-Northern	18-5	156
16	20	Faulkner (Ala.)	19-3	130
17	17	MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)	17-6	129
18	8	William Carey (Miss.)	17-4	127
19	22	Westminster (Utah)	18-4	120
20	18	Rogers State (Okla.)	16-6	112
21	19	Evangel (Mo.)	16-5	107
22	25	Cumberlands (Ky.)	17-5	101
23	23	Philander Smith (Ark.)	15-5	97
24	RV	LSU Shreveport (La.)	15-4	74
25	RV	Arizona Christian	13-5	48

Others receiving votes: Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 35; Culver-Stockton (Mo.) 35; Shawnee State (Ohio) 34 Montana Western 21; Southern-New Orleans (La.) 18; Georgetown (Ky.) 12; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 10; St. Thomas (Texas) 10; Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 6; Park (Mo.) 4.