Warriors sweep Lions in basketball doubleheader

Even in a game where he took just three shots from the floor, Alton Hamilton made a difference for the Lewis-Clark State men’s basketball team.

“Alton is unselfish and Alton is an elite passer,” LC State coach Austin Johnson said. “We scored 45 points in the first half, and he only took three shots, and there wasn’t one ounce of him complaining or being upset.

“His temperament, his personality is huge.”

Hamilton only took three shots, but his team-leading eight rebounds and three assists set up guards John Lustig and MaCarhy Morris to pace the Warriors with 18 points apiece and secure the 87-77 win over the Multnomah Lions in Cascade Conference play Saturday at the P1FCU Activity Center in Lewiston.

The Warrior women muzzled the Lions with a 92-47 win in their earlier Cascade hoops encounter with five 3-pointers and 21 points from Sitara Bryd.

Lustig perfect

The Warriors provided another sizzling in-conference offensive showing thanks in part to Lustig’s perfect night.

The junior guard from Colfax was a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor and delivered an identical 6-for-6 mark from the free-throw line. He also grabbed seven rebounds and snagged three steals.

“He’s not always going to be the most skilled or talented guy, but it’s hard to question his heart and his desire to win,” Johnson said. “He deeply cares about his teammates and deeply cares about winning. ... Tonight he was awesome.”

Johnson said he put Lustig in some tough defensive spots to break up the Lions’ late-game press.

“He handled it well,” Johnson said. “He stayed poised, made his free throws and then helped us figure it out.”

Lustig was quick to credit his teammates for his 6-for-6 shooting night, including his roommate Hamilton, LC State’s leading scorer on the season.

“Teams will double team (Hamilton) every chance they get, and he does a really good job,” Lustig said. “I think he got me a couple layups.”

Hamilton turned in 14 points with a 10-for-12 mark from the foul line.

Lustig said the Warriors knew that Multnomah walked into Lewiston as the second-best offensive rebounding team in the NAIA, an identity they supported by grabbing 10 offensive boards.

However, the Warriors gained the advantage with 11 offensive boards and out-rebounded the Lions 37-26.

The Warriors carved out a game-high 24-point lead thanks in part to a couple big plays from Morris, who finished with 18 points, and Jayceon Smith’s 12 bench points.

When the Lions began to close the gap and cut the game to a 12 or 10-point difference, senior guard Taden King helped keep the Warriors on top with four 3-pointers and 16 total points.

Turnovers, fouls haunt Warrior men

Multnomah’s physicality caused LC State to turn the ball over 19 times.

By the 12-minute mark of the second half, LC State had three players in foul trouble, including Hamilton, Smith and Lustig, whose 14 points up to that point had all come in the first half.

The Warriors watched the Lions roar back into the game with a 51% second-half mark from the floor, which included five 3-pointers.

Three Lions fouled out of the game, including Braedon Edison, who led Multnomah with 16 points off the bench.

While the game got tight in the closing minutes, Johnson said his team handled the “chaos” of the Lions’ aggressiveness well.

“We were basically playing prevent defense the second half of what they were doing to us,” Johnson said. “It wasn’t even really a half-court game anymore. It was pretty much they’d sprint down, take quick shots to try and get back in it.”

Lustig said his teammates’ focus was to hang onto the ball, slow the game down and run out the clock to win.

The Warriors did just that and won by 10.

Warrior women dominate

The Warrior women’s dominance was evident from whistle to whistle in their 45-point victory.

It started with three steals in 93 seconds of the first quarter by senior guard Ellie Sander.

“Nothing Ellie does surprises me anymore because she’s so good at what she does,” LC State coach Caelyn Orlandi said. “I mean, she’s so athletic that you know something good’s gonna happen when she’s out on the floor.”

Sander finished with 15 points, three 3s, a team-leading eight assists and four steals.

Sander’s stretch of three steals in 93 seconds led to seven points, including the second of five towering 3-pointers for Byrd.

Byrd sank three total 3-pointers in the first quarter and the Warriors led 27-10 after that frame.

“Sitara is good every night, truly,” Orlandi said. “She brings it every time she steps on the floor. When she gets going, it’s contagious.”

Contagious, it was.

The second quarter was much of the same standard dominance for the Warriors as they outscored the Lions 25-9 and walked into the locker room on a 19-0 run.

Thirteen Warriors scored and three got in double figures, but Orlandi and Bryd both credited the Warriors’ strong defense for setting up offense and paving the way to such a dominant performance.

“We got a great group of girls,” Byrd said. “Everyone just loves each other, and we all work the best for each other. ... We recruit for personality too, so everyone just fits really well in our team dynamic.”

Up next

For both Warrior teams, the next road trip presents an opportunity for a get-back win that could make a difference in the league standings.

The Warriors women and men travel south to face College of Idaho on Friday and square off with Eastern Oregon on Saturday.

The Warrior women’s first two losses of the season came by Eastern Oregon and C of I in December.

Orlandi said the Warriors look forward to facing C of I with a healthy roster as starting point guard Peyton Hymas missed the previous contest with an injury.

“We’re already looking forward to next weekend,” Orlandi said. “When we played College of Idaho, I thought our defense was okay. We just didn’t score the ball at the level that we normally do, and we’re gonna be ready to go this time around.”

The now-No. 4 C of I men, who have made a couple of deep NAIA tournament runs in recent years, beat the Warrior men in Lewiston as well.

“We’re not done climbing the mountain,” Johnson said. “We got another mountain to climb. It starts with our preparation on Monday for C of I and EOU.”

MEN’S GAME

MULTNOMAH (13-8, 9-7)

Madsen 2-6 0-0 5, Ford 4-7 4-4 14, Nelson 3-9 1-2 7, Torkornoo 3-7 1-2 9, McCord 2-6 7-8 11, Stewart 5-11 1-1 11, Edison 5-11 5-5 16, Mason-Robertson 1-1 1-2 4. Totals 25-58 20-24 77.

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (17-5, 12-4)

Lustig 6-6 6-6 18, Morris 5-17 7-8 18, Hamilton 2-3 10-12 14, King 5-12 2-2 16, Knowles 0-1 2-6 2, Smith 3-4 6-7 12, Boykins 2-2 3-4 7, Nordland 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-45 36-45 87.

Halftime — LCSC 45 MUL 27. 3-point goals — MUL 7-24 (Madsen 1-3, Ford 2-5, Nelson 0-6, Torkornoo 2-4, McCord 0-2, Stewart 0-1, Edison 1-2, Mason-Robertson 1-1), LCSC 5-18 (Morris 1-7, King 4-11). Rebounds — MUL 26 (McCord 7), LCSC 37 (Hamilton 8). Assists — MUL 10 (Madsen 4, Nelson 4), LCSC 9 (Hamilton 3). Total fouls — MUL 30, LCSC 19. Fouled out — MUL: Torkornoo, Edison, Mason-Robertson; LCSC: Smith. Attendance — 825.

WOMEN’S GAME

MULTNOMAH (6-16, 4-12)

Robertson 3-7 1-1 8, Huerta 5-17 4-4 18, Torkornoo 1-12 0-0 3, Browning 6-16 0-0 12, Naeata 2-7 2-2 6, Reiland 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-58 7-7 47.

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (18-4, 12-4)

Sander 6-10 0-0 15, Byrd 8-11 0-0 21, Green 2-3 2-2 6, Hymas 5-6 4-4 15, Herring 3- 0-0 6, Wilson 1-2 1-3 6, Barger 0-1 2-2 2, Wallace 1-6 0-0 2, Nelson 0- 2-2 2, Brager 3-5 0-0 9, Beardin 0-2 0-0 0, Firnkoess 1-1 0-0 3, Karlberg 0-1 6-6 6, O’Neill 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 31-57 17-19 92.

3-point goals — MUL 6-28 (Robertson 3-7, Huerta 4-9, Torkornoo 1-9, Browning 0-4, Naeta 2-7), LCSC 13-23 (Sander 3-6, Byrd 5-6, Hymas 1-1, Wallace 0-4, Brager 3-3, Beardin 0-1, Firnkoess 1-1, Karlberg 0-1). Assists — MUL 11 (Huerta 3), LCSC 19 (Sander 8). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — MUL 26 (Torkornoo 6, Browning 6), LCSC 43 (Byrd 10). Total Fouls — MUL 14, LCSC 9. Technical Fouls — None. Attendance — 734.

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