LC State Men’s Basketball Cascade Conference Quarterfinal Preview

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Alisha Alexander | LCSC Sports Information Director
ASHLAND, OR – The LC State Men’s Basketball team battled its way into the Cascade Conference Men’s Basketball Championship, presented by U.S. Bank, and earned the No. 6 seed in the eight-team tournament. Playoff basketball begins tomorrow for the CCC men with the top four seeds hosting quarterfinal matchups.

LIVE COVERAGE

College of Idaho, ranked No. 1 in the NAIA, completed an undefeated conference slate to earn the regular-season CCC title, top seed and automatic bid to the national tournament. Eastern Oregon clinched the No. 2 seed, Southern Oregon is No. 3 and Warner Pacific is seeded fourth.

Corban earned the fifth seed in the tournament and will travel to WPU. LC State will take on SOU in Ashland, seventh-seeded Oregon Tech is scheduled to play EOU and No. 8 Bushnell will face C of I.

LC State has advanced to the CCC postseason tournament in all three years it has been a member.

NO. 3 SEED – Southern Oregon (19-9, 15-7)

The Raiders secured the No. 3 seed in the CCC tournament after finishing conference play with a record of 15-7. SOU took both meetings with LC State this season by finals of 85-81 and 84-50. Atmar Mundu had an explosive game in Lewiston with a game-high 30 points, and four different Raiders scored in double-digits against LC in Ashland.

The Raiders have won seven of their last eight contests and upset then-No. 6 William Jessup (Calif.) early in the season. The last three losses (No. 1 College of Idaho, Oregon Tech, and Corban) have been within six points.

SOU leads the CCC in 3-pointers made per game (9.6) and blocked shots per game (4.2), and is second in scoring margin (10.5), assists per game (17.3), and assist/turnover ratio (1.4).

Mundu is the Raiders’ top scorer this season and fourth in the Cascade at 16.9 points per game. He also ranks fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (.461) and is third in 3-pointers made per game (2.9). Josh Meyer leads the team in rebounding and ranks sixth in the CCC with 7.3 per contest. Meyer is third in the conference in assists per game (4.3) and Tez Allen is sixth (3.6).

NO. 6 SEED – Lewis-Clark State (14-14, 11-11)

The Warriors clinched their spot in the CCC tournament on the final weekend of the regular season with a victory over Multnomah. LC defeated Warner Pacific on Senior Night to secure the No. 6 seed.

LC State faced adversity all season with an almost entirely new roster and injuries that severely impacted the team’s depth. The Warriors’ longest winning streak of the season was three games, which they accomplished twice. LC gained momentum in the final weekend with an 87-70 victory against Multnomah to knock the Lions out of playoff contention, and a 70-65 win versus fourth-seeded Warner Pacific.

The Warriors are fourth in the CCC in scoring defense (72.3) and fifth in field goal percentage defense (.433). LC is third in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.326) and fifth in rebounding (37.4) and rebounding margin (3.5).

LC State’s leading scorer, newcomer Davian Brown, ranks ninth in the CCC in scoring with 14.8 points per game. Brown scored his 1,000th career point on Saturday including his time at his previous school. He ranks sixth in 3-pointers made per game (2.4) and ninth in 3-point percentage (.392). The freshmen duo of John Lustig and Grayson Hunt have been key to the Warriors’ success all season. Lustig is averaging 12.6 points per game and Hunt is sixth in the CCC in field goal percentage at .555.

Sophomore Silas Bennion is the lone Warrior to start all 28 games this season and has been consistent for LC all year long. The guard leads the team in assists (98) and steals (38) while averaging 9.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

THE DETAILS

LC State will travel to Ashland, the farthest trip in the conference, for a 7:30 p.m. contest on Tuesday. The winner of the contest will move on to play in the semifinals. The highest remaining seed will host the lowest remaining seed, and the second-highest remaining seed to host the second-lowest remaining seed. All games in the men’s tournament will be played at 7:30 p.m. local time.

Stay up to date with all things Warriors Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.