LEWISTON, Idaho – Kevin Baker dropped 21 points on Saturday night to help the No. 20 Lewis-Clark State Men’s Basketball team to a 76-64 victory over a talented Montana Western team. After a back-and-forth battle to begin the game, the Warriors took off in the second half to earn their fifth victory of the season.
“It was a great weekend for our guys as they competed and handled adversity at a high level and handled it together” Head Coach Austin Johnson said. “I thought Kevin showed glimpses of being an elite player on both ends of the floor. We once again got great contributions from all over the roster. I was especially pleased with our rebounding this weekend as each night we had a double-digit advantage. We’ve got lots to work on, but this was an encouraging first step for this group.”
Baker was voted the MVP of the Clearwater River Casino & Lodge Classic, and Oreon Courtney was also voted to the all-tournament team.
“I think the attention to detail is what helped us the most,” Baker said. “Coach (Austin Johnson) does a great job of scouting other teams and we do a good job of understanding players’ tendencies and trying to take away their strengths. I think that is what separated us from the other teams this weekend.”
The beginning of the game was highly contested with Western jumping out to a 9-5 lead. A 3 by Kevin Baker cut the deficit to one at 17:08, and Khalil Stevenson evened the score, 11-11 at the 15:22 mark. Baker hit an equalizing 3 with 12:35 left in the half to make it a 14-14 game, and Silas Bennion kept the scored tied at 16 a piece a minute later.
Al Sommerfield gave LC an 18-16 edge on an assist from Teagen Hoard midway through the half before Oreon Courtney made it two in a row with an assist from Bennion. The Bulldogs cut the advantage to 24-23 with 5:48 on the clock, but a layup by Courtney stretched the margin back to three soon after. Stockton found Sommerfield under the basket for a second LC basket in a row, and Sommerfield drained a 3-pointer at 3:23 to give LC a 31-26 lead.
The Warriors led Montana Western 33-27 at the half.
UMW rallied to even the score 43-43 with 14:24 left to play. Back-to-back buckets by Courtney and Hoard put the Warriors ahead 47-43. Hoard and Baker kept the momentum going with baskets within 45 seconds of each other to push the lead to four, 51-47, with 10:35 on the clock.
Baker nailed a 3 and Courtney followed with a layup to give the Warriors five in a row. Baker continued his impressive run with two free throws and a 3 down the stretch to put LC in control 61-49 with just over eight to play.
Bennion and Stevenson each hit triples to further solidify the victory with a 76-74 final.
Baker had a career-night with a team-leading 23 points on a 7-for-11 performance from the floor, 4-for-5 from 3 and 5-for-6 from the line. He grabbed a career-best eight boards. Courtney added 13 points and Sommerfield scored 12. Courtney notched a double-double with 11 rebounds, and tallied two steals and three assists. Stevenson led LC State in assists with five, and also added eight points and five rebounds. Sommerfield had three steals.
As a team, LC State shot 50 percent from the floor and 47.4 from 3.
LC State travels to Walla Walla on Nov. 23 to open Cascade Conference play. The Warriors then head to Salem for a tournament hosted by Corban on Nov. 26 and 27.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.
Twin Rivers Physical Therapy Classic All-Tournament Team
MVP: Kevin Baker – LC State
Oreon Courtney – LC State
Jalen Hodges – Montana Western
Jamal Stephenson – Montana Western
Darius Henderson – Corban
Rashee Stocks - Providence