LEWISTON, ID – No. 23 LC State Men’s Basketball put together a gritty game on Saturday to stun defending national champion College of Idaho in the semifinal round of the Cascade Conference Men’s Basketball Championship, presented by U.S. Bank. After a Warrior went down with an injury early the second half, LC State rallied around each other to gut out a heart-pounding 74-62 victory.
John Lustig and Dylan Skaife put together stellar games with 21 points each and Grayson Hunt grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds with three blocks. Brandon Suber found open teammates for six key assists down the stretch.
“Super proud of our guys and the way they responded throughout the game,” coach Austin Johnson said. “Our hearts go out to Elijah (Kersey) with his tough injury as he’s such a big part of this program. Our guys rallied around him and certainly played with an edge for him down the stretch. Skaife hit some big shots; John was elite and Suber did a great job of getting downhill. Grayson was incredible on the glass securing rebounds and playing winning basketball. We need to rest and recover and be prepared for another battle on Tuesday against a high-level Corban team.”
LC State will face off with seventh-seeded Corban (Ore.) in the title game of the CCC tournament on Tuesday at home. Tipoff in the P1FCU Activity Center is set for 7 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED
C of I seemed to control pace early in the contest and jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the first five minutes. Peyton Nordland and Brandon Suber chipped away at the deficit before 3-pointers by Skaife and Trevor Manning cut the difference to three, 16-13, at 9:30. Back-to-back baskets by Lustig and free throws by Nordland put LC State in front 19-18 at 6:22.
The lead changed hands throughout the remainder of the half, but free throws by Lustig sent the Warriors to the locker room with a 27-26 edge.
Nordland completed a three-point play to keep the momentum with LC State to start the second half and a foul shot by Dallon Morgan had the lead at 31-26 after 20 seconds. The Yotes cut the lead back to three points at 16:54, but an injury to a teammate sent the Warriors into another gear.
Skaife knocked down three triples and Childs added another in the span of two minutes as the energy continued to build for LC State. Skaife notched a three-point play after a foul to push the margin to 46-36 with 12:35 on the clock.
Hunt drained a pair of baskets before the Warriors took advantage of C of I fouls at the line. Skaife, Hunt and Lustig accounted for LC State’s next seven points on free throws, and a 3 by Morgan had the lead at 61-48 at 5:12.
The Warriors went to the free throw line for seven points in the final minutes to clinch their spot in the title game.
STAT RECAP
Lustig and Skaife led the contest with 21 points each. Skaife hit four 3-pointers and Lustig went 7-for-10 from the field with 11 rebounds for a double-double.
Hunt had the best defensive game of his career with personal-bests in rebounds (14) and blocked shots (3). Suber orchestrated the offense with six assists that created 16 points.
The Warriors outscored the Yotes 47-36 in the second half and held C o f I to 38.6% shooting from the floor. LC State shot 42.6% during the contest and 50% in the second half. The Warriors totaled 14 assists on 23 made baskets and grabbed 42 rebounds.
