Warrior men shoot lights out in Cascade Conference semifinal

In fewer than four months, Lewis-Clark State freshman Dylan Skaife has gone from riding the bench to starting in the Cascade Conference Tournament.

The true freshman from Ferris High School in Spokane nailed five 3-pointers, scored a game-high 21 points and led the third-seeded LC State men’s basketball team to a 98-78 win over seventh-seeded Multnomah (Ore.) in the semifinal round Friday at the P1FCU Activity Center in Lewiston.

“I just kind of tried to go out there and do my best,” Skaife said. “Shots went in tonight, so it turned out well.”

The win sends the Warriors to Caldwell, Idaho, where they will face College of Idaho, the No. 1 NAIA team in the country, in the CCC championship at 6 p.m. Pacific on Monday.

Warriors’ dominance

LC State benefited from dual double-doubles as sophomore Alton Hamilton and Colfax alumnus John Lustig each delivered for the Warriors.

Hamilton made 8-of-12 shots and 4-of-6 from the foul line for 20 points along with 12 rebounds and a game-high six assists. Lustig was 6-for-7 from the floor for 14 points and tallied 10 rebounds and five assists.

Warrior sophomore guard MaCarhy Morris drilled three 3s on his way to 18 points.

While the offense was flowing with four double-digit scorers and a 59.6% shooting mark for 98 points, the Warriors’ defense caught the eye of LC State coach Austin Johnson.

“To hold them to under 35% from the floor is huge,” Johnson said. “Our starting group really set the tone, and just super impressed with how they guarded.”

The Warriors jumped out to a 7-3 lead minutes into the contest after Hamilton sent a pinpoint pass inside to Lustig, who drew the and-1 on the layup.

“Not to be like glazing Alton (Hamilton), but like he does everything well for us, honestly,” LC State senior Gorden Boykins said. “(He) just creates more open opportunities for everybody on the floor.”

Multnomah forward Noah McCord disrupted the Warrior passing lane and slipped the ball to Noah Madsen after the fast break for the open layup and the Lions clawed their way to an 8-7 lead at the 16:15 mark.

The Warriors were well aware that the Lions were fresh off of upsetting second-seeded Oregon Tech and wasted little time taking control of the game.

Skaife exhibited killer defense in the paint, preventing a Lion bucket, grabbing the rebound and funneling the ball cross-court to Taden King, who immediately sent it sailing toward Hamilton, who dumped it off to Morris for a right-side 3.

Less than 20 seconds later, Skaife sank a sizzling left-hand corner 3 to restore a two-score lead at the 15:06 mark.

An authoritative and-1 from King and a Hamilton layup rounded out LC State’s 11-0 run and the Warriors did not lead by less than three scores the rest of the way.

Skaife finished the first half with 15 points and opened the second half with another 3-pointer.

Second half mistakes

The Warriors grew their lead as large as 35 points but experienced an 11-3 Multnomah run after halftime and coughed up several costly turnovers and fouls.

“(Multnomah is) really hard to guard in transition, so we had to take good shots, not let them get easy fast breaks, and just limit our turnovers,” Skaife said.

Johnson said it is difficult for any team to protect a 35-point lead. Although the Warriors certainly made mistakes in the second half, Johnson was proud of their effort and praised the sustained offense that the Warriors relied on.

“It’s a good credit to them with how they mix things up,” Johnson said of Multnomah’s late resurgence. “We try to balance some minutes late in the second half. So overall, just super pleased with what our guys did.”

Conference final vs. No. 1 Yotes

This is a particularly special week for Johnson and his family as his wife welcomed their fourth child, Banks, at approximately 2 a.m. on Wednesday, about five hours after the Warrior men beat Corban in the quarterfinals.

“This week’s been a lot of joy, but not a lot of sleep,” Johnson said. “My wife’s a trooper.”

If Johnson has his way and the Warriors take care of business on Monday, he will be pretty busy over the next several weeks.

A win in the championship guarantees them a spot in the NAIA national tournament, whereas a loss would mean LC State would hope for an at-large bid.

“We’ve lost twice (to College of Idaho), but I don’t think they saw our best shot,” Skaife said. “So I think we’re really going to go and play our best honestly.”

Skaife was not a starter when the Warriors last faced the Yotes. With his newly earned role in the lineup, the Warriors will be ready for Round 3 vs. the No. 1 team in the NAIA.

Both Skaife and Boykins said they aren’t focused on what comes after Monday, knowing that what they can control is how they perform in a tough final.

“I’m just trying to go out there and win a championship,” Boykins said. “And go get a national championship too.”

MULTNOMAH (17-12)

Madsen 3-8 0-0 7, Ford 3-8 0-0 7, Nelson 3-10 1-3 7, Torkornoo 1-2 0-0 3, McCord 7-14 0-0 17, Edison 3-14 2-2 8, Mason-Robertson 0-2 0-2 0, Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Grassman 1-1 1-2 3, Newkirk 0-2 3-4 3, Windfield 2-9 8-9 13. Totals 25-72 19-27 78.

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (24-6)

Skaife 6-11 4-4 21, Lustig 6-7 2-5 14, Morris 5-7 5-5 18, Hamilton 8-12 4-6 20, King 3-5 1-1 9, Carpenter 3-8 0-0 7, Smith 1-5 3-3 5, Boykins 1-1 0-0 2, Nordland 0-0 0-0 0, Salguero 1-1 0-1 2, Jedlicka 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-57 19-25 98.

Halftime — LCSC 52, MUL 28. 3-point goals — MUL 9-31 (McCord 3-4, Edison 0-3, Madsen 1-5, Nelson 0-2, Torkornoo 1-2, Ford 3-7, Windfield 1-6, Mason-Robertson 0-2), LCSC 11-24 (Skaife 5-10, Morris 3-3, King 2-4, Carpenter 1-6, Smith 0-1). Assists — MUL 9 (Nelson 3), LCSC 23 (Hamilton 6). Rebounds — MUL 35 (McCord 6, Edison 6, Nelson 6), LCSC 42 (Hamilton 12). Total fouls — MUL 24, LCSC 21. Fouled out — None. Attendance — 762.

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.