LEWISTON, ID – It’s an all-Warrior affair on Tuesday when top-seeded No. 23 LC State and seventh-seeded Corban (Ore.) face off in the 2026 Cascade Conference Men’s Basketball Championship presented by U.S. Bank.
LC State is making its second straight trip to the CCC title game after winning the regular-season crown for the first time since 2021.
THE MATCHUP
LC State swept the regular-season series with Corban by scores of 71-68 in Salem and 86-63 in Lewiston. Dylan Skaife had a monster game in Salem with a career-high 29 points on seven 3-pointers and Jamare’ Childs led LC with 18 points on six triples in Lewiston.
The Warrior teams last faced off in the postseason last year when LC State earned an 88-75 victory in the quarterfinal.
THE LC STATE WARRIORS (24-6, 16-4)
The LC State Warriors earned their spot in the CCC title game with an impressive victory over defending national champion College of Idaho. LC State trailed early in the second half, but an injury to a teammate sent the LC State team into another gear that the Yotes could not match. John Lustig and Dylan Skaife each scored 21 points in the 74-62 victory and Grayson Hunt grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds.
LC State took the CCC by storm this season and emerged as the top team in the standings. The Warriors in blue and red won eight of their final nine regular-season games and used the depth of their lineup to their advantage.
The LC State defense is one of the best in the NAIA and ranks sixth in the nation in scoring defense with 66.3 points allowed per game. LC State leads the CCC in 3-point percentage defense (30.6) and is second on the offensive side of the 3-ball with a 38.3% mark.
Senior Lustig cemented himself as one of the best to wear an LC State uniform, but even a six-game hiatus due to injury didn’t slow the team down. Sophomore Skaife became one of the CCC’s biggest scoring threats from 3-point range, and newcomers made an immediate impact. Seniors Hunt and Peyton Nordland stepped into their leadership roles flawlessly and provided support across the court.
Lustig leads LC State in scoring and rebounding this season with 15.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest. He ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage (58.0) and fifth in rebounding. Fellow four-year senior Hunt is fourth in field goal percentage (56.7) and Brandon Suber is fifth in assists (98).
Skaife leads the team from the 3-point line with 84 triples this season and Jamare’ Childs is not far behind with 62. The pair have provided clutch baskets throughout the season, including a massive 29-point game by Skaife earlier this season against Corban.
Suber has been a spark off the bench with his team-leading 98 assists and 10.4 points per game, and Trevor Manning leads the team in steals with 21. He has aided the team with clutch 3-pointers and defense down the stretch. Senior Peyton Nordland has been key on the leadership front, along with 8.4 points per game and stellar defense at the perimeter.
THE CORBAN WARRIORS (16-14, 10-10)
The Corban Warriors upset their way to the CCC title game with wins over second-seeded (RV) Eastern Oregon and sixth-seeded Bushnell (Ore.). The Warriors in blue and gold defeated the Beacons 78-70 in the CCC semifinal with 25 points from Joe Gould, and double-doubles from Tj Zimmerman and Clyde Harris Jr. to punch their ticket to the championship.
Corban is second in the CCC in steals per game with 7.9. The opposing Warrior team is averaging 76.4 points per game with a 48.2% mark from the field.
Gould leads the conference in field goal percentage (58.5), is second in steals (49) and fourth in blocks (29).
Tj Zimmerman leads the Corban Warriors in scoring this season with 17 points per game, and Gould is also in double-digits with 13.9 per game. Anjay Cortez is the top rebounder with 8.5 boards per game.
THE DETAILS
The conference title game is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the P1FCU Activity Center. The LC State Warriors have already clinched the CCC’s first automatic bid to nationals, so Corban would need a win over LC State to earn the second. Should regular-season champion LC State win, second-seeded Eastern Oregon will get the second bid.
