(Editor’s note: University of Providence athletics release)
LEWISTON, Idaho — A 70-37 run over the final 20 minutes lifted the No. 16 Lewis-Clark Warriors (15-4, 4-3) over the No. 22 Argos (12-6, 3-4) on Thursday night, 113-78.
Austin Starr and Jalen Shepard led the Argos scoring 15 points each. Shepard tallied five boards, four assists and a steal, while Starr added three rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. Brandon Cotton was the third Argo in double-digits with 11 points and two assists.
Five Warriors scored in the double-digits with Cordel Hankerson leading the way with a game-high 22 points. Josiah Westbrook, Trystan Bradley, Dana Abe, and Damek Mitchell rounded out the field with 16, 13, 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Warriors opened the contest on an 11-2 run to take lead. The Argos responded with a 9-4 rally to cut the deficit to four, 15-11, at the 13-minute mark. Over the next five minutes of clock, the Warriors would extend their lead back to double-digits with eight minutes to play in the half, 26-15. The Warriors would maintain their 10-point lead to the five-minute mark, 32-22, before an 11-0 Argo run would pull the Argos ahead for the first time in the contest with three minutes to play, 33-32. A warrior three would put Lewis-Clark back on top, 35-33. The Argos would bring the game back within one following a free throw from Cotton, 40-39, but a four more points from the Warriors and a Shepard two would send the game into the break with Lewis-Clark up by two, 43-41.
The second half was a completely different game however as they Lewis-Clark warriors stepped on the pedal and never let up. The Argos opened the period with a Shepard three to take a 44-43 lead, but it was short-lived as they Warriors tied things up and then took a one-point lead following two free throws, 45-44. Over four minutes later, The Warriors extended their lead to 10 following a 16-7 run, 61-51. The Argos would bring lead back down to nine, 63-54, but a 9-0 run would put the Warriors up by 18, 71-54. The Warriors would continue to lay it on over the last 13 minutes of the match as they continued to extend their lead to its eventual 113-78 end.
The No. 20 Argos (13-6, 2-5) struggled to overcome a low scoring first period, 28-9, in route to an 88-64 loss against the No. 18 Lewis-Clark Warriors (14-4, 4-3) on Thursday evening.
Emilee Maldonado led all scorers in the contest as the only player to surpass 20 points with 23. She also tallied six rebounds, two assists, and a steal in the contest. Parker Esary joined Maldonado in double-digits with 10 points, while also pulling down four boards and stealing the ball once.
The Warriors had three players notch double-digit point totals with Jamie Nielson leading the way with 19, followed by Hailey Turner and Abbie Johnson with 14 and 13, respectively. Jossilyn Blackman led Lewis-Clark defensively with six rebounds, while Peyton Souvenir grabbed five steals.
The Warriors got on the board first, 3-0, but Maldonado would quickly respond to tie things up at three. The Warriors would go on a 17-2 run to take a 15-point advantage with four and a half minutes left in the first, 20-5. The Warriors would continue to outscore the Argos over the final minutes of the first quarter 8-4 to claim a 28-9 advantage.
The second period was a much better one for the Argos as they nearly match the Warriors point for point, 18-16. The Argos opened things up on a 10-4 run to cut the deficit down to 13, 32-19. The Warriors would however respond with their own 8-3 run to put their lead back at 40-22. Maldonado would nail a three to bring the deficit back down to 15, 40-25, but again the Warriors responded with six unanswered to close out the half with a 21-point lead, 46-25.
The Warriors went on s 12-4 scoring run over the first four minutes of the third period to take a 29-point lead at the six-minute mark, 58-29. Lewis-Clark would maintain a 30-point advantage over the next five and half minutes of clock to hold a 71-41 lead with 30 seconds to go, however Kenedy Cartwright would knock down a three to send the game into its final period with the Argos down by 27, 71-44.
The Argos would diminish the deficit down to 22, but Warriors wouldn’t let Providence get any closer as they would eventually take the 88-64 victory.
The Argos will return to the Treasure State as they take on the Montana Western Bulldogs on Saturday at 5:30 p.m., with the men to follow.
