LEWISTON, ID – The Lewis-Clark State Men’s Basketball team, receiving votes in the national poll, dominated the boards in Saturday’s 76-62 victory over The Evergreen State College (Wash.). The Warriors finished the contest with a 43-27 rebound advantage behind John Lustig’s 13-point, 11-rebound double-double. Both Lustig and Josh Salguero (9) had career-highs in the category.
Brandon Suber and Dylan Skaife led LC State in scoring for the second straight night with a combined 35 points and 11 rebounds.
“Good way to close out the weekend for our guys. Josh set the tone out of the gate with his physicality on the glass which was a big spark,” coach Austin Johnson said. “Dylan and Suber finished the weekend on a high note and Lustig continues to knock off some rust. Great contributions up and down the roster which we’ll need to continue as we dive into second half of league play. Excited to keep improving with these guys.”
The victory improves the LC State record to 14-4 overall and 8-2 in Cascade Conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lustig, Jamare’ Childs and Salguero combined for a 7-0 run to start the contest before a run of six points from Salguero, Skaife and Lustig made it 13-2 by 15:34. A 3-pointer by Dallon Morgan grew the advantage to 15 points, 22-7, at 8:40 and an and-1 play by Suber kept the margin there with a 28-13 advantage with 5:05 left in the half.
Skaife kept the offensive pressure up with a triple in the final three minutes. The senior trio of Lustig, Grayson Hunt and Peyton Nordland combined for the final six points of the half to send the Warriors to the break with a 37-28 lead.
Salguero fought his way to the first two baskets of the second half for LC State before 3-pointers by Trevor Manning and Skaife. TESC attempted to chip away at the Warrior lead and cut the difference to five points, 57-52, with eight minutes to play.
Suber sparked a run of 10 points that included a pair of 3-pointers by Skaife to grow the margin to 73-56 by 3:37. The Warriors maintained the double-digit lead for the rest of the contest.
STAT RECAP
Suber led LC State with 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting. He added six rebounds and a game-high four assists to his night. Skaife added 17 points with five 3-pointers and five rebounds.
Lustig notched his double-double with 13 points and a career-best 11 rebounds. Salguero had the best rebounding game of his career with nine boards which included six offensive rebounds.
Evergreen State’s Tony Frohlich-Fair led the contest with 20 points and grabbed six rebounds. Bradley Graham added 18 points.
