SALT LAKE CITY - It seemed like every shot was contested, every rebound was wrestled for and every moment mattered in the Lewis-Clark State men's basketball team's war with Westminster in the opening round of the Frontier Conference playoffs on Wednesday night.
When the smoke of hustle plays and exciting basketball cleared, the Warriors saw their season come to a close with an 82-70 loss at the hands of the Griffins.
The Warriors end the year with a mark of 16-12, their first winning record in three seasons.
As was the pattern in many of their losses this year, the Warriors proved they could hang with their opponent for the majority of the game but couldn't find a way to close it out down the stretch. LCSC lost the lead or fell out of reach in the final five minutes of multiple games this season, and Wednesday's game was more of the same.
Still, the Warriors did give it all they had. They looked like they knew they could win, and for the first 35 minutes of the game it almost looked like they were going to.
Early on, the Warriors matched the Griffins' strongsuit of passing the ball well to find the open man with a number of excellent passes of their own.
With a shooting percentage of 54.9 on the night, Westminster continued to pace the scoring, but the Warriors, aided by the extra-effort plays of Ray Stout and Derek Gianukakis, somehow found a way to remain in the game.
Donte Roberts hit an inside jumper to make it 57-53 with 8:03 left, and then on the next possession converted a foul into two makes at the free throw line to make it 57-55 with 7:30 on the clock.
This two-point deficit was as close as the Warriors would come though, as the Griffins used a couple of steals, some 3-pointers and a whole bunch of free throws to put the game away.
"That stretch in the second half was the difference," L-C coach Tim Walker said. "Westminster made some plays, we had some mistakes and turnovers and they went on a little run."
Westminster, 21-8, made 23 of 27 attempts at the foul line, which proved to be the major difference maker in the game. Michael Stockton was 9-of-10 at the line and finished with a game-high 29 points.
Besides Stockton, who also had four assists and five steals, Tanner Gregory had a big night with 14 points and five boards, and Jake Orchard added 13 points and three boards.
David Johnson led L-C with 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while senior Alex King had 15 points and five rebounds.
Gianukakis and Donnie Lao, both seniors, had eight points apiece. Roberts, a junior, also had eight points.
The Warriors, who shot 44.1 percent from the field overall, also led on the outside by shooting 6-for-18 from 3-point territory to Westminster's 3-for-9.
"Both teams played well," Walker said. "We could have taken better care of the ball, but we got great shots and good looks."
For the L-C's four seniors, King, Lao, Gianukakis and Jared Giammona, it was their final game as Warriors.
"They are disappointed, obviously," Walker said. "You never want it to end, none of us do. They play so hard and they commit to doing that all the time, so when you come so close and miss it is tough."
The Griffins move on to face Carroll in the semifinals at home on Saturday.
Lewis-Clark State (16-12)
Johnson 5-6 5-7 16, King 7-12, 1-3 15, Lao 2-4 2-2 8, Roberts 3-4 2-2 8, Stewart 1-5 0-0 2, Giammona 2-8 0-0 5, Gianukakis 3-7 0-0 8, Key 0-3 0-0 0, Miller 1-4 2-3 4, Stout 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 26-59 12-17 70.
Westminster (21-8)
Bjornberg 4-6 2-2 10, Gregory 7-9 0-0 14, Orchard 3-7 7-7 13, Reilly 2-5 4-5 9, Stockton 9-18 9-10 29, Cassity 2-4 1-3 5, Christensen 0-1 0-0 0, Rainbird 0-0 0-0 0, Tucker 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-51 23-27 82.
Halftime-WCSL 35-34. 3-Point Goals-LCSC 6-18 (Johnson 1-1, Lao 2-4, Stewart 0-4, Giammona 1-5, Gianukakis 2-4), WCSL 3-9 (Bjornberg 0-1, Orchard 0-2, Reilly 1-2, Stockton 2-3, Cassity 0-1). Fouled Out-Bjornberg. Rebounds-LCSC 32 (Johnson 7), WCSL 30 (Bjornberg, Gregory 5). Assists-LCSC 13 (Johnson, Stewart 3), WCSL 16 (Stockton 4). Total Fouls-LCSC 23, WCSL 16. Technicals-None. A-N/A.
