LEWISTON, Idaho – Nathan Fromm and Teagen Hoard provided the spark that No. 20 LC State (10-1) needed off the bench after a slow start against Portland Bible College on Sunday afternoon. Five Warriors ended the game in double-digits in the 95-47 win.
Portland Bible College jumped out to an 8-2 lead early in the opening 20 minutes before a layup by Kevin Baker and a three-point play by Fromm cut the deficit to one. After Hoard turned a steal into a layup to give LC an 11-10 advantage, Fromm made the lead permanent with a 3 to make it 14-13 at 13:06. LC outscored PBC 35-16 through the remainder of the half to take a 49-29 advantage into the locker room.
The LC State bench was active in the second half as the Warriors outscored PBC 46-18. Sam Stockton sparked a 16-point rally that was capped by a layup by Joel Meske. Grant Ellison, Will Abram, Hoard and Kai Warren all contributed in the stretch. A span of six straight from Warren closed out the game with LC in front 95-47.
Fromm led the Warriors with 14 points in the contest, Stockton added 11, and Oreon Courtney, Hoard and Ellison each scored 10. Ellison’s 10 points were a career-high, as were Kalani Sapwell’s nine points and Warren’s eight. Meske also saw a career-high with his six points.
Sapwell and Abram led LC at the boards with six rebounds each, both career-bests. Stockton and Hoard each dealt four assists and Hoard had four steals.
As a team, LC State shot 62.7 percent from the field. The Warriors had 15 steals and forced 21 turnovers.
“Grateful to get the win and play some different lineups,” Head Coach Austin Johnson said. “We’re excited about going on the road to two very tough league environments this week. We’ll need to be our best to give us a chance to be successful.”
LC jumps back in to Cascade Conference play on Dec. 17 and 18 with a trip to Eastern Oregon and No. 15 College of Idaho. The Warriors open the weekend at EOU on Friday at 7:30 p.m. before taking on the Yotes on Saturday at 4 p.m. PT.
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