SPOKANE, Washington – The first half was a game of runs, and the second was a back-and-forth battle on Friday night when the No. 7 Lewis-Clark State Men’s Basketball team (3-0) took down the NCAA DIII 19th-ranked Whitworth Pirates by a final of 65-62. The Warriors used a 25-4 run in the first half to take a 15-point lead, but a talented Whitworth team battled back in the second half and the game came down to the final minute. Trystan Bradley notched the team’s first double-double of the season with 20 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
“I am very thankful to have the opportunity to play this weekend,” Head Coach Austin Johnson said. “I know neither team played its best, but it was still a high-level college game that had a late-season feel to it. Whitworth is a big-time program and is so well coached.”
Whitworth got on the board first, but Damek Mitchell evened the score 2-2 before Brock Henry put LC State in front 4-2 in his first-career start. A 3-pointer by Mitchell at 15:56 put the Warriors in front 9-7, and Jake Albright made a pair of free throws to make it 11-7.
The Pirates tied the game 11-11 at 11:48 before taking the lead at 11:06. A deep 3 from Mitchell put the Warriors back in front 17-15 at 8:44, and a pair of free throws made it an 8-0 run for LC State (19-15). Khalil Stevenson tipped a ball in and Trystan Bradley made good on two free throws to make it a 12-0 rally.
Travis Yenor found the basket with just over five minutes to play in the half and put LC State up by nine at 28-19, and Oreon Courtney pushed the advantage to double digits at 4:16 (30-19). The Warriors continued to put offensive pressure on Whitworth with a 25-4 run to go ahead 34-19 in the final two minutes, and led 34-28 heading into the locker room.
Mitchell led all scorers are the half with 12 points.
Whitworth opened the second half with a quick three points to cut the LC State lead to 34-31, but a three-point play by Stevenson pushed the lead back to six at 37-31 with 17:44 to play. Bradley drained a 3 with an assist from Mitchell, but the Pirates kept it close and pulled within four at 40-26 five minutes in.
Bradley tipped a ball in at 14:41 to make it 43-37, but run by Whitworth brought the Pirates within one a minute later. The Pirates took the lead, 46-45, midway through the half.
Mitchell took advantage of two free throws to out LC State back in front by one at 9:17, and Bradley hit a 3 to keep the Warriors in the lead 52-50 a minute later. Whitworth tied the contest once again at 6:31, and a layup by Stevenson after a steal gave LC a 54-52 advantage. The lead was short-lived as the Pirates answered with a 3-pointer.
A huge 3 from Stevenson put the Warriors in front 57-55 as the back-and-forth continued into the final two minutes of the contest. A basket by Bradley and free throws by Albright and Mitchell pushed LC State ahead 61-57 in the last minute. Whitworth found the basket with 20 seconds remaining to cut the LC lead to 61-59. A dunk by Bradley gave the Warriors enough of a cushion to stay in front, despite a 3-pointer by the Pirates, and LC State went to the free throw line where Mitchell drained two foul shots to end the game 65-62.
The Warriors moved to 3-0 on the season with the nail-biting victory.
Bradley notched his first double-double of the season with a game-leading 20 points and 12 rebounds. The 12 boards are a career-best. Mitchell added 17 points and Stevenson scored 12. Albright was second on the team with nine boards, Mitchell had eight and Stevenson had seven.
The Warriors won the battle at the boards and grabbed 49 rebounds compared to Whitworth’s 36. They held the Pirates to 34.7 percent shooting from the field, and just 14.3 percent from 3-point range.
“Although we didn’t play our best by any means, I appreciated how our guys kept battling at a place that’s extremely difficult to win at,” Johnson said. “With a short turnaround, it’ll be another big test tomorrow and a great opportunity to learn more about ourselves.”
LC State faces off with the Pirates on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. The game can be streamed online or watched at Zany’s.