CALDWELL, ID – The Warriors put the Cascade Conference on notice on Saturday in Caldwell with an 87-67 rout of No. 12 College of Idaho. LC State Men’s Basketball, receiving votes in the national poll, dominated both sides of the ball with major contributions off the bench.
LC State shot 57.1% from the field and held the defending NAIA National Champions to 35.4%. Brandon Suber led the contest with a career-high 18 points on an 8-for-10 night from the field. LC State had 44 points off the bench led by Suber, Grayson Hunt and Trevor Manning.
“Good to see the guys bounce back after a disappointing effort last night,” coach Austin Johnson said. “It was encouraging to see them work together more offensively/defensively and handle the different ups and downs of the game. Our bench was really impressive with Suber getting downhill drives, Trevor operating midrange and Grayson establishing himself inside. Dylan (Skaife) defended really well despite being undersized. I thought Peyton Nordland had an incredible weekend running things for us and defending some tough matchups. Hoping we can stay healthy and keep improving as we stay on the road in conference play.”
The win has the LC State record at 7-3 on the season and 1-1 in CCC action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Dallon Morgan, Dylan Skaife and Jamare’ Childs had LC State out to a 7-0 lead in the first half, but C of I rallied to take a 9-7 lead by 15:16. Skaife added a 3 and Suber drained four baskets to keep the Warriors in front 18-14 at 12:31. Skaife capped a seven-point run with a triple for a seven-point advantage at 12:13. The Yotes cut the margin to 21-19 before a basket by Hunt stretch the lead back to 23-19 midway through the half.
The Yotes struck for a five-point run after a basket by Manning to make it a one-point game, 25-24, and baskets by Manning and Hunt grew the advantage to 33-27 with 1:55 to play in the half. Skaife scored five points and Manning drained two foul shots in the final minute to send LC State to the locker room with a 40-31 lead.
John Lustig scored the first four LC State points of the second half as the Warriors kept their foot on the gas. Hunt sparked a run of 9-2 with seven of his own points before a bucket by Suber capped the run at 56-44. Morgan sparked an 11-point rally with contributions from Hunt, Lustig and Suber for a 70-52 advantage with 8:17 to play.
Free throws by Suber, Peyton Nordland and Lustig carried the contest in the final minutes before a layup by Nordland closed the scoring for LC State.
STAT RECAP
Suber led the game with his career-high 18 points (8-for-10) to go with four assists and four rebounds. Hunt went 6-for-9 from the field for 15 points with six rebounds and Skaife added 13 points on 3-for-6 shooting from 3-point range. Manning tallied 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting.
Lustig led the Warriors with contest with nine boards along with seven points and three assists, and Nordland had a game-high five assists with nine points.
LC State shot an impressive 57.1% from the field (32-for-56) and went 15-for-18 at the free throw line. The Warriors held C of I to 35.4% from the field and 27.6% from 3-point range.
UP NEXT
The Warriors stay on the road with games at Walla Walla (Wash.) on Dec. 16 and Warner Pacific (Ore.) on Dec. 20.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
