LEWISTON, ID – An unreal comeback in the second half propelled No. 22 LC State Men’s Basketball to a share of its first Cascade Conference title in five years, and the first as a full member of the conference. The Warriors trailed by as much as 17 points before a massive final 15 minutes that ended with LC State in front 75-66.
John Lustig, Grayson Hunt and Peyton Nordland made their final regular-season home game one to remember as all three played major parts in the victory. Lustig was stellar once again with a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double, Hunt excelled on the defensive end with 11 boards and two blocked shots and Nordland went 4-for-4 from the floor with nine points. Every Warrior on the court had at least five points and grabbed a rebound.
“Huge win for our players and program in front of a great senior night crowd,” coach Austin Johnson said. “This group has stuck with it even through a lot of adversity and challenges. Tonight was a struggle, but we really clamped down the last 15 minutes. Trevor (Manning) was a huge spark for us in the second half and our three seniors just weren’t going to let us lose. So proud of this team but also know we have more work ahead of us.”
The victory secures a share of the regular-season title with Eastern Oregon. The Warriors finished with a 22-6 overall record and 16-4 in CCC action. The top seed for the CCC tournament and the conference’s automatic national qualifier will be determined after the completion of all CCC contests on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lustig, Jamare’ Childs and Nordland combined for the first 14 LC State points to give the Warriors an early edge, but the Beacons surged to pull ahead 28-14 by 11:30. Seven straight points by Lustig and a layup by Brandon Suber had LC State within five, 28-23, and a back-and-forth had Bushnell ahead 46-39 at the half.
Bushnell extended its lead to 17 points, 60-43, at 15:12 in the second half, but the Warriors turned the tables after that. Lustig hit another 3 and Suber sparked a 15-point run to take a 63-61 lead at 7:13. Nordland scored five points in the stretch, Lustig added four and Hunt closed out the rally with back-to-back layups to give the Warriors the advantage.
The Beacons kept the score within one before triples by Trevor Manning and Childs pushed the margin to 72-64 at 3:02. The Warrior defense stepped into gear in the final minutes and Suber sealed the win with the final three points.
STAT RECAP
Lustig led the Warriors with 22 points and matched Hunt with a game-high 11 rebounds. Nordland, Childs and Suber each scored nine points in the contest.
Hunt scored eight points and blocked two shots, Lustig dished out four assists and Suber added three. Childs went 3-for-4 from 3-point range.
LC State shot 53.3% as a team and made nine 3-pointers at 42.9%. The Warriors had the rebound edge 39-28 including 11 offensive boards.
