LEWISTON, Idaho – LC State Men's Basketball, receiving votes in the national poll, took on Northwest Indian College in its home opener and routed the Eagles 107-62. Dallon Morgan had a career night and led the contest in scoring with 16 points.
The victory improves the LC State record to 2-1 on the young season.
"Good home win for our guys tonight," coach Austin Johnson said. "Got a lot of guys minutes and were able to work on some things to hopefully improve for our next games. I felt like Dallon really helped set the tone on both sides of the ball and was pleased with our bench elevating our play."
HOW IT HAPPENED
LC State jumped in front early and held a 36-9 advantage midway through the first half. Brandon Suber answered an opening bucket by NWIC, and Josh Salguero sparked a massive 24-point run with a tip-in at 16:06. The Warriors held the Eagles off the board for nearly six minutes.
A triple by Jamare' Childs was followed by a basket by Carson Way at 8:52 to push the lead to 43-13, and Dylan Victorio combined with Morgan for a run of five points to make it 48-15 at 7:19. Trevor Manning and Kesler Vaughan each hit a 3 and Mateen Usui threw down a dunk to emphasize the LC State scoring in the half, and the Warriors led 63-30 at the break.
LC State opened the second half with a 13-point run on baskets by Morgan, Salguero, Suber and Dylan Skaife. A dunk by Salguero capped the stretch at 16:57 for a 76-30 lead. Lewiston products Royce Fisher and Way combined for eight points before tallies by Vaughan and Victorio pushed the margin to 90-46 at 10:02.
Skaife, Elijah Kersey and Victorio put together a 10-point scoring stretch for LC State for a 100-47 cushion at 4:19. Free throws by Way and Kersey, along with a triple by Vaughan, closed out the scoring at 107-62.
STAT RECAP
Morgan led all scorers with a career-high 16 points on a career-best seven made field goals. He also blocked a personal-best two shots.
Childs tallied 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting from 3-point range, and Fisher added 10 points with a pair of 3s.
Usui led the defense with a career-high seven rebounds, Manning grabbed six and Morgan, Suber and Victorio each had five. Suber led the game with four assists and three steals to go with his nine points.
UP NEXT
The Warriors are back on the road next weekend at Montana Tech's Best Western Tipoff Classic in Butte. LC State will face Montana Western and (RV) Montana Tech in the tournament.
Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.