Warriors rule the Frontier

HELENA, Mont. - Afterward, he didn't know what to say.

"I'm pretty much speechless," said second-year Lewis-Clark State men's basketball coach Brandon Rinta, after L-C's 84-65 victory over Carroll on Saturday night gave the Warriors their first Frontier Conference regular-season title since 2008.

"I'm just so proud of these guys. I could go down the list and give credit to all 11 of them for this accomplishment because they all deserve it."

All but assured a ticket to Nationals, L-C earned a first-round bye and home-court advantage throughout FC tourney, which will open Wednesday. The Warriors will get a first-round bye and play host to the lowest seed to advance at the LCSC Activity Center at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Nick Fromm finished with 14 points and senior P.J. Bolte played the role of hero when he scored a season-high 32 points during L-C's title-clinching triumph over two-win Carroll.

Bolte opened the second half with a pair of triples and "when he came out and hit two 3's to open the second half I knew this was going to be a special night for him," Rinta said of Bolte, who he said carried his team in the first half, when the Warriors found themselves in a fight.

L-C held a slim 33-31 lead at the break.

But in the second half, the Warriors quickly went for the knockout punch.

L-C connected on 74 percent of its shot attempts and quickly built a 20-point cushion.

"We did a much better job of getting the ball inside (in the second half)," Rinta said. "Nick (Fromm) was in foul trouble all first half and stepped up really big in the second half."

L-C, which began the year unranked, claimed the fifth regular season title in program history and finished the regular season with an overall record of 26-4 and a league mark of 11-4.

The Warriors are tied with the 2006-07 L-C squad for second-most wins in program history.

"This is a great accomplishment, but I think they're hungry for more," Rinta said. "Hopefully this team has three more weeks of basketball left in it."

Saturday's victory came on the heels of a lopsided loss to Montana Western on Friday and "they had such a bad taste in their mouth, we made it all business today. We were on a mission," Rinta said.

Nick Jones led Carroll (2-25) with 20 points.

"We're not the most talented team in the conference. We're not the most athletic. We're not the biggest. But we found a way," Rinta said.

Lewis-Clark State

Fromm 7-12 0-0 14, Marshall 4-5 0-0 8, Ellis 2-7 2-2 7, Champoux 1-5 0-0 2, Archie 1-2 1-3 3, Sobotta 1-4 3-4 6, Sperry 3-3 1-2 7, Moquino 2-4 0-0 5, Bolte 11-17 8-9 32. Totals 32-59 15-20 84.

Carroll

Hollifield 1-2 2-2 4, King 3-8 0-0 8, Mikelonis 5-10 0-0 10, McGrath 5-9 1-1 13, Jones 7-21 4-5 20, Ball 3-8 1-2 7, East 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-60 9-13 65.

Halftime - L-C 33-31. 3-point goals - L-C 5-13 (Ellis 1-2, Champoux 0-2, Sobotta 1-4, Bolte 2-3), Carroll 6-20 (King 2-3, Mikelonis 0-4, McGrath 2-4, NJones 2-8, Williams 0-1). Assists - L-C 11 (tie), Carroll 7 (King 5). Rebounds - L-C 41 (Archie 7), Carroll 30 (Hollifield 6). Total Fouls - L-C 15, Carroll 16. Fouled out - none. Technicals - none.