February 12, 2008

Basketball teams hit the road; baseball is home for a tournament

BASEBALL

The Warriors will see some familiar faces when the Regence BlueShield of Idaho tournament is played at LCSC’s Harris Field on Friday through Sunday. College of Idaho, Whitworth, and Mayville State of North Dakota also will take part in the round-robin tournament.

LCSC, College of Idaho and Whitworth all participated in a round-robin tournament last weekend to help kickoff the season. Originally, Whitworth was supposed to play a four-game series at the College of Idaho in Caldwell, but bad weather postponed the series. The two teams then got together with LCSC and help a six-game round-robin tournament at Lewiston. LCSC went 3-1, College of Idaho 2-2, and Whitworth went 1-3.

The BlueShield of Idaho Tournament kicks off at 11 a.m. on Friday with Mayville State and the College of Idaho at 11 a.m., followed by College of Idaho and LCSC at 2 p.m.

On Saturday, tournament play has Mayville State and College of Idaho again at 10 a.m., followed by Whitworth and LCSC at 12:30 p.m. and Whitworth and Mayville State at 3 p.m.

Saturday’s two contests has LCSC and Mayville State at 10 a.m., and LCSC against College of Idaho at 1 p.m.

LCSC, College of Idaho and Mayville State all play four games in the tournament, while Whitworth will play just two.  Mayville State will be opening its season in the tournament.

In the opening weekend, the Warriors hit .326 as a team and outscored the opposition 29-11. Senior third baseman Ikaika Lest went 7-for-12 for a .583 average, while Paul Martin went 8-of-15 (.533) with four RBI. Mike Rivera (4-10) and Kyle Greene each had a home run and drove in four runs.

The Warrior pitching staff put up solid numbers. The team allowed only eight earned runs for a 2.00 ERA. Both Matt Fitts and Brad Schwarzenbach threw five innings of scoreless ball with five strikeouts. In all, 12 LCSC pitchers saw action during the weekend. The Warriors also are 5-for-5 in stolen bases while opponents are just 1-of-6. 

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

After stumbling to start the second half of conference play, the Warriors look to right the ship when they embark on a two-game road trip to Montana to face Montana State-Northern and Great Falls this week.

LCSC is 7-1 in conference play and 18-4 overall and has a one-game lead in the loss column over Carroll College, which is 7-2. The Warriors suffered their first conference loss of the season when they fell at home to Westminster, which is currently third at 5-3.

Both MSU-Northern and Great Falls have struggled of late and are looking to gain some late-season momentum. MSU-Northern has lost three straight to fall out of title contention. MSU-Northern is 3-6 in league play and 13-10 overall.

Great Falls, which is much improved from a year ago, is also 3-6 in league play and is challenging to have its first above .500 season record. The Argonauts are currently 12-13 overall.

The Warriors have won 16 of their last 18 games, bud had their nine-game win streak snapped. LCSC also had its streak of 21 straight regular-season conference victories end, which is a Frontier Conference record.

Mandy Troutt continues to pace a balanced LCSC scoring attack with a 12.7 points per game average, while Jade Fulbright is at 11.3 points. Sadie Short (10.9) and Breianna Gaines (10.3) are also averaging in double figures.

Fulbright is now second on the LCSC’s all-time steals list with 315. She needs 31 more to tie all-time leader Amanda Campbell. Katie Hart has 4.5 assists per game and has 549 in her career, which is second on the all-time school list. Fulbright has 314 to stand eighth.

Fulbright is 11th in the NAIA in steals per game at 3.1, while Kim Preston is 15th in assist/turnover ratio at 2.0. Hart is 19th in assists, 28th in assists/turnover ratio, and No. 32 in steals per game.

As a team, the Warriors are second in the country in scoring margin, outscoring foes by an average of 24 points per game. LCSC is third in rebounding margin, turnover margin, points allowed, and is fourth in steals per game. The team is also sixth in assist/turnover ratio, seventh in total rebounds, assists and offensive rebounds per game, and is ninth in field goal percentage defense.

Frontier Conference standings – Lewis-Clark State 7-1, 18-4; Carroll 7-2, 19-3; Westminster 5-3, 18-6; Montana Western 3-5, 15-8; Montana Tech 3-5, 10-12; Montana State-Northern 3-6, 13-10; Great Falls 3-6, 12-13; Rocky Mountain 3-6, 10-15.

MEN’S BAKSETBALL

Back alone in first place in the conference standings, the Warriors look to keep the momentum going on their second to final regular season road tip of the year.

LCSC is 7-1 in conference play and 16-6 overall. The Warriors hold a half-game lead over Rocky Mountain and a game-lead over Westminster in the conference race for the top spot. LCSC is the defending regular season and conference tournament champions.

Waiting is a Montana State-Northern squad that dropped two games by 30 and 24points last weekend to fall out of the title chase. The Skylights have lost two straight and stand 5-4 in league and 15-8 overall. Great Falls is 1-8 and 7-14 overall.

The Warrior men have been on a roll, winning 10 of their last 11 games, but in a season full of adversity, it appears the next chapter has hit. Kasey Riley, who suffered a knee injury early in the season and missed more than a month while rehabbing, suffered a different injury to the same knee and could be out for the remainder of the season. If that’s the case, the Warrior roster will be down to just 10 players, only three of which are taller than 6-foot-4.

Senior Mike Gordy continues to lead LCSC at 20.1 points per game, while Brian Duckworth also is in double figures at 11.8 points. Gordy also tops the team in rebounding at 5.5 per outing, while Jonathan Daly is at 5.4.

Gordy ranks third in the NAIA in field goal percentage at 61.6 percent, and is No. 10 in points per game. He’s also No. 33 in free throw shooting at 78.6 percent.

Sophomore guard Napoleon Gordon is fifth in steals per game at 2.8, and also is 10th in assist/turnover ratio. Duckworth is ninth in 3-point shooting at 45.9 percent, and is No. 13 in steals at 2.5 per outing.

As a team, LCSC leads the country in turnover margin. The Warriors are forcing 8.4 more turnovers a game than they commit. LCSC also is fifth in steals per game at 11.8, and 11th in 3-point field goal percentage at 38.9 percent. 

Frontier Conference standings – LCSC 7-1, 16-6; Rocky Mountain 7-2, 19-5; Westminster 6-2, 16-4; Carroll 5-4, 17-7; Montana State-Northern 5-4, 15-8; Montana Western 2-6, 9-13; Montana Tech 1-7, 5-17; Great Falls 1-8, 7-14.

TENNIS

The Warrior men’s and women’s tennis teams will take a break from normal action to hold the program’s annual tennis marathon fundraiser on Saturday. The fundraiser will take place at 8 a.m.-10 p.m. in the LCSC Indoor Tennis Center.

The fundraiser involves people in the community playing with team members. At least one Warrior team member will be on each of the four courts during the 14 hours. Tennis enthusiasts are invited to play with the Warriors in singles, doubles or mixed doubles matches.

To play in the event, go to the Web site www.lcsc.edu/tennis and click on the tennis marathon link. Once on the marathon page, viewers can see the available times to play. Signups are done electronically.

For more information on the marathon or to make a donation, contact the LCSC Indoor Tennis Center at 792-2309.

MEN’S GOLF

The Warrior men’s golf team will kick off the spring portion of its schedule with the Arizona Intercollegiate in Casa Grande, Ariz., on Monday and Tuesday. Oklahoma Christian University is the host team for the large event, which will be played at the Francisco Grande Golf Club.

A number of the NAIA’s top teams will be there so it is important for the Warriors to play well to secure their spot in the polls, which help determine the berths to nationals.

The course is 7,545 yards and features a 630-yard par-5 hole as well as three par-4 holes measuring at least 473 yards.

This is one of six tournaments the Warriors are scheduled to take part in this spring, including two home tournaments.