Lewis-Clark State Warriors split basketball doubleheader with College of Idaho Coyotes

CALDWELL, Idaho — The Lewis-Clark State women’s and men’s basketball teams concluded their back-to-back away games with a split against College of Idaho on Saturday at the J.A. Albertsons Activity Center in Caldwell, Idaho. The women won 61-42 and the men lost 81-71.

Both squads will receive a five-day layoff before playing Southern Oregon, which boasts the No. 20 women’s team in the country and a men’s team that is tied with LCSC and COI for the lead in the Cascade Conference.

Here’s how Saturday’s games played out:

Men’s comeback falls just short

The men closed out the day’s proceedings in a nightcap that probably sent a few of the Warrior and Coyote faithful on an emotional roller coaster.

LCSC (9-5, 7-1) started the game with the first upswing of that roller coaster. The Warriors took an early 19-10 lead with 13:40 left in the first half, propelled by five points in the team’s first eight possessions by LCSC’s leading scorer Jaedon Bradley. He finished with a game-high 24 points.

No. 5 College of Idaho (12-2, 7-1) adjusted. With the Warriors leading 21-14, the defending national champion Coyotes called a timeout and made a call that paid dividends.

COI switched from its typical 2-3 zone defense to a 3-2 zone. The switch added pressure on LCSC’s perimeter offense and the Coyotes closed down the open looks that the Warriors were able to take advantage of early.

COI closed out the half on a 35-20 run and went into halftime up 49-41. The Coyotes further bolstered its lead, the highest an 18-point advantage with 15:27 to go in regulation, but LCSC had one final push left in it.

The Warriors chipped away at COI’s lead and with 2:47 left in the game, trailed just 72-71. Guard Quentin Raynor scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half to help fuel the run.

But the well ran dry for LCSC and the Coyotes closed out the game on a 9-0 run for the 10-point final margin.

“Love how we battled,” LCSC coach Austin Johnson said. “I mean, we suited up eight guys and some of those guys weren’t at full strength today. So basically, we tried to play with 6 ½ (players). But loved our fight. ... We just struggled to guard, especially in the first half. We gave them a big cushion.”

The loss is the first for the Warriors since Nov. 25 and now puts LCSC in a deadlock with COI, Southern Oregon, Corban and Oregon Tech at the top of the Cascade Conference (all those teams have one conference loss apiece).

Women start slow, finish strong

In the matinee, it looked like it might play out to be a competitive one.

No. 7 Lewis-Clark State (11-2, 7-1) initially struggled against the College of Idaho (3-11, 3-5) defense, and trailed 10-8 halfway through the opening quarter.

The Warriors ended up flipping the advantage and led 16-14 going into the second frame. But, if the first quarter was any indication, the game was going to come down to the wire.

That didn’t happen.

Instead, LCSC held the lead for the rest of the game and bolstered it to an eight-point advantage at halftime, then a 25-point lead at the end of the third and held on for the 19-point final margin. Every Warrior who received more than 10 minutes of playing time scored at least two points.

“Our defensive rotations were some of the best we have had this season,” LCSC coach Caelyn Orlandi said in a news release. “We communicated, covered for each other and defended very well. We forced 20 turnovers and were able to snag 13 steals.”

Up next

Both teams return home on Friday at the P1FCU Activity Center in Lewiston. The women will play No. 20 Southern Oregon at 5 p.m. and the men will play Southern Oregon at 7 p.m.

MEN

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (9-5, 7-1)

Bradley 8-17 1-2 24, Hamilton 5-8 2-3 12, Brown 4-12 2-3 11, Lustig 2-9 0-0 4, Stockton 0-1 0-0 0, Raynor 6-9 0-0 16, Boykins 1-1 2-2 4, Peoples Jr. 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 7-10 71.

COLLEGE OF IDAHO (12-2, 7-1)

Morgan 8-15 3-3 19, Wyman 5-10 3-4 15, O’Neil 5-8 0-0 10, Radford 2-5 4-4 8, Rabinett 1-7 0-2 3, Rogers 7-10 0-0 14, Wilson 2-3 2-3 6, Germer 2-2 0-0 6, Handran 0-1 0-0 0, Peoples 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-61 12-16 81.

Lewis-Clark State 41 30—71

College of Idaho 49 32—81

Halftime — College of Idaho 49-41. 3-point goals — Lewis-Clark State 12-28 (Bradley 7-12, Raynor 4-7, Brown 1-7, Lustig 0-1, Stockton 0-1); College of Idaho 5-15 (Wyman 2-4, Germer 2-2, Robinett 1-6, Morgan 0-1). Rebounds — Lewis-Clark State 32 (Bradley 7); College of Idaho 35 (O’Neil 8). Assists — Lewis-Clark State 16 (Brown 5); College of Idaho 11 (Morgan 3). Total fouls — Lewis-Clark State 15; College of Idaho 13. Technical fouls — none. Fouled out — none. Attendance — 1,401.

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WOMEN

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (11-2, 7-1)

Stevens 5-12 2-2 14, Sander 4-6 1-2 11, Wilson 4-4 1-1 9, Holm 2-4 1-2 6, Byrd 2-7 2-2 6, Green 2-4 1-2 4, Nelson 2-4 0-0 4, Herring 2-5 0-0 4, Barger 1-3 0-0 2, Brager 0-3 0-0 0, Beardin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-52 8-11 61.

COLLEGE OF IDAHO (3-11, 3-5)

Austin 3-10 0-0 8, Beresford 1-8 4-4 6, Graham 2-7 0-0 5, Waltermeyer 1-5 1-2 1, Reed 0-1 1-4 1, Mooney 2-9 3-4 7, Zimmerman 3-4 0-0 6, Anderson 2-4 0-0 4, Wemhoff 1-3 0-0 2, Hirsch 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-52 9-14 42.

Lewis-Clark State 16 15 24 6—61

College of Idaho 14 9 7 12—42

3-point goals — Lewis-Clark State 5-14 (Stevens 2-5, Sander 2-3, Holm 1-2, Brager 0-3, Byrd 0-1); College of Idaho 3-21 (Austin 2-8, Graham 1-4, Mooney 0-4, Waltermeyer 0-2, Reed 0-1, Anderson 0-1, Wemhoff 0-1). Rebounds — Lewis-Clark State 32 (Holm 8); College of Idaho 34 (Graham, Mooney, Hirsch 5). Assists — Lewis-Clark State 12 (Sander 3); College of Idaho 11 (Mooney 4). Total fouls — Lewis-Clark State 15; College of Idaho 12. Technical fouls — none. Fouled out — Lewis-Clark State 1 (Herring). Attendance — 1,011.