Lewis-Clark knocks Lights out of tourney
By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com
LC played probably its best basketball of the season en route to a 89-62 win over the Montana State University-Northern
Lights in first-round tournament action in the
"That is the best I've seen them play this season," said Lights head
coach
The game was almost over before it started as the Warriors jumped out to an
early lead thanks to some scoring from an unlikely source.
Light-scoring point guard Spencer Bishop scored nine points in the first half,
almost more than his average, to jump-start the Warriors.
LC also got a big lift from shooting guard Joey Ray, who came off the bench to
score 10 first-half points, including three 3-pointers. Ray sat out last
weekend with a bad foot.
"Obviously having a healthy Joey Ray made
a difference," said Lewis-Clark head coach George Pfeiffer. "He gives
us one more weapon to pick from."
One very good weapon. With Bishop and Ray hitting from
long range, Huse knew it could be the start of a long night.
"We knew coming in that we needed them to miss some shots from the
outside," Huse said. "Unfortunately, they didn't miss from the
outside."
Once the Warriors started hitting from the outside, it opened up things on the
inside for LC's superior inside game.
"Their shooting forced us to extend our defense and really spread us
out," Huse said. "Once they did that, they started driving past us
and every one of their players are capable of doing
that."
With everything clicking, the Warriors rolled to a 20-point lead late in the
first half.
Northern tried to stay in the game, but turnovers were a problem. The Lights
committed 17 turnovers in the first half, which proved costly.
"We didn't play that bad," Huse said. "But we committed way too
many turnovers that led to some easy baskets for them. We're not the type of
team that can get down in double digits and just come back."
Danny Allen's jump shot at the buzzer gave LC a 49-24 lead at halftime.
"Obviously, that was not the start we were looking for," Huse said.
"LC came out very focused early and we made some
mistakes early that hurt us."
Unfortunately, things only got marginally better for the Lights in the second
half.
Northern made things respectable behind the play of freshmen Cody Gillespie and
Cory Brothers. The duo combined for 22 points in the second half and showed
flashes of the future for the Lights.
Gillespie led Northern with 16 points, while Brothers finished with 14. Junior
Jordan Matthews chipped in with 10 points in the loss.
"There is something to build off of here even in the loss," Huse said.
"We return a good core of kids that got some good experience. I hope they
have learned from these game situations. This should certainly offer some
motivation for next year."
LC had five players in double figures led by Ray's 16 points on 5-8 3-point shooting.
John Moore and Jared Tikker scored 14 points each,
while Bishop finished with 13 and Martin Brothers chipped in with 10 points.
"We played with great enthusiasm and a lot of swagger tonight,"
Pfeiffer said. "We played really unselfishly and we were making the extra
pass. It showed with all of our easy shots."
Northern finished the season with a 12-18 record overall. But many people,
including Pfeiffer, believe it's a misleading number, with all the tough
losses.
"Coach Huse does a tremendous job," Pfeiffer said. "They've had
their struggles this season, but his players still play their butts off, which
is a credit to them and him. He's done a tremendous job in some adverse
conditions."
Lewis-Clark St. 89, MSU-Northern 62
MSU-NORTHERN (3-12, 12-18)
Reid Stovall 0-0 0-0 0; Marcus Wilson 4-7 0-0 8;
Jordan Matthews 3-6 4-7 10; Landen Grant 0-1 0-0 0;
Leo Bullchild 1-2 0-0 3; Cory Brothers 4-11 4-7 14;
Antonio Jordan 0-3 3-4 3; Cody Gillespie 4-5 4-4 16;
Ed Lowe 0-2 2-2 2; Tim Hutchins 3-3 0-0 6; Pathe
Yatera 0-0 0-0 0. Totals:
19-40 17-24 62.
LEWIS-CLARK STATE (11-4, 23-8)
John Moore 6-9 2-2 14; Martin Brothers 3-4 4-5 10;
Chris Pitts 3-5 0-0 6; Danny Allen 2-7 5-6 9; Spencer
Bishop 4-5 3-4 13; Joey Ray 5-8 1-2 16; Justin Fraser
1-3 0-0 2; Justin Fraser 1-3 0-0 2; James Idoko 1-7
3-4 5; Jared Tikker 7-8 0-0 14. Totals: 32-56 18-23
89.
Halftime Score: LCSC 49, MSU-N 24. 3-point goals: 7-15 (Bullchild
1-2, Brothers 2-5, Jordan 0-2,
Gillespie 4-5, Lowe 0-1); LCSC 7-17 (Allen 0-4, Bishop
2-3, Ray 5-8, Fraser 0-1, Tikker 0-1). Rebounds:
MSU-N
21 (
Assists: MSU-N 10 (Stovall 3); LCSC 20 (Bishop 6).
Tunovers: MSU-N 24, LCSC 15. Team Fouls: MSU-N 21,
LCSC 23. Fouled out - none. Technical Fouls: none