Lewis-Clark State Warriors prevail against Brewton-Parker (Ga.) Barons in the NAIA women's national tournament

Mar. 16—Nothing helps a team's confidence better than being on the right side of a rout.

It took a half, but fourth-seeded Lewis-Clark State College ended up pulling away for an 85-56 win against 13th-seeded Brewton-Parker (Ga.) in the first round of the NAIA women's national tournament at the P1FCU Activity Center in Lewiston.

The Warriors (26-5) overcame a first-half spurt from the Barons (19-13) and had several players with standout performances that fueled a dominant second-half run.

"You got to always figure out teams," LCSC coach Caelyn Orlandi said. "You got to figure out the game a little bit. And I think that's what our team was doing."

Here's how Friday's national tournament game shaped out:

Barons start strong

If basketball had rounds, the first would have gone to Brewton-Parker.

The two teams struggled to find a consistent string of scoring in the first quarter. The Barons were stopping LCSC from utilizing its trademark fast-break offense. The Warriors were walling off Brewton-Parker's guards and stopping them from using their quickness to drive inside the paint.

LCSC's defense cracked first.

The Barons started to look for 3-pointers, something that they have struggled with this year (23.8% on the season).

Brewton-Parker connected on some and made 6-of-15 attempts from long range in the first half.

This allowed the Barons to lead by as many as seven. A run of eight straight points from junior guard Keonya Mincey also helped keep Brewton-Parker's lead at three possessions.

But the Warriors weren't out of it.

In the second quarter, LCSC kept pulling within one possession, only to have the Barons immediately respond.

With six seconds left in the first half, senior guard Callie Stevens found sophomore forward Sitara Byrd in the left corner. Byrd nailed the 3-pointer to put the Warriors up 38-37 going into halftime — their first lead since early in the first quarter.

Stevens finished the game with a team-high 17 points and dished out four assists. Byrd had a near double-double of nine points and 12 rebounds to go with four assists and three steals.

Unbeknown to Brewton-Parker, the seconds before Byrd's 3 would be the last time it would have the advantage.

Monster third quarter helps seal the win

At 7:38 left in the third quarter, a foul against Warriors' sophomore post Lindsey Wilson was reviewed as a potential flagrant. The referees ruled it a typical foul, but it still lit a fire in the Tigard, Ore., native.

Immediately after the foul, Wilson scored three points in two possessions. She ended up getting three and-one calls in the second half and scored 11 of her 14 points in the final 20 minutes of play.

That foul ended up being the catalyst for a third quarter run in which LCSC outscored the Barons 25-4 and included a period of eight minutes that Brewton-Parker did not score a field goal.

Wilson and the Warriors' other post players were large reasons for that.

LCSC outscored the Barons 44-6 in the paint for the game. Freshman forward Darian Herring had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds and junior forward Mataya Green had six points and brought in seven boards. All three posts also registered a block.

"(Brewton-Parker) came out swinging and punched us in the mouth right away," Wilson said. "Once we regrouped and got some momentum going in the second half that was really important for us."

The Warriors also started to close out on the Baron's shooters more effectively in the second half.

This helped lead to a reinvigorated fast-break offense for LCSC. Extra defensive pressure from Byrd and freshman guards Tatum Brager and Camden Barger made it impossible for the Barons to get any easy lanes to the basket.

"I think that it helps that our team is super versatile," Brager said. "Anyone can do anything I feel like. Anyone can have a big night."

Brewton-Parker put up a much better showing on offense in the fourth quarter. But, by the final 10 minutes, the Warriors had already built their lead to over 20 and had all the momentum, which they carried to the final buzzer and the 29-point win.

Up next

LCSC will get one more home game at the P1FCU Activity Center and will play Jamestown (N.D.) at 5:30 p.m. today.

"You got to use everything you got — all the momentum you get," Orlandi said. "(Jamestown is) different from the team we just played. There's big-time differences. It's one game at a time. Now we get to focus on these guys, we'll work on it (today) and come play some Warriors basketball."

LCSC men 93, Hope International 77

BUTTE, Mont. — The 11th-seeded Lewis-Clark State men's basketball team had its own national tournament game against sixth-seeded Hope International (Calif.)

The Warriors (23-8) started the game strong and led by 12 at halftime.

The Royals (21-10) were much stronger in the second half and put up 57 points. LCSC was not deterred and put up 61 in the final 20 minutes to build on its lead and secure the 16-point win, avenging a buzzer-beating loss to the Royals earlier in the season.

Senior forward Jaedon Bradley (21 points) and senior guard Sam Stockton (18) combined for 39 to lead the way for the Warriors.

Freshman forward Alton Hamilton (10), sophomore forward Anthony Peoples Jr. (11) and junior guard Gorden Boykins (11) all also tallied double figures for LCSC.

The Warriors will play third-seeded Montana Tech in a second-round national tournament game at 5 p.m. today in Butte, Mont.

WOMEN

BREWTON-PARKER (19-13)

Keats 4-14 0-0 11, Evans 1-6 3-4 5, McRae 1-3 1-2 3, Clay 2-13 2-4 8, Wiggins 2-3 0-0 4, Mincey 7-19 1-2 18, Bess 0-1 2-2 2, Wright 1-1 0-0 2, Ward 0-0 0-0 0, Bryant 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 19-64 9-14 56.

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (26-5)

Wilson 5-7 4-6 14, Sander 5-12 0-0 11, Byrd 4-10 0-0 9, Stevens 6-15 1-1 17, Green 2-3 2-3 6, Barger 1-3 0-0 2, Nelson 2-7 2-2 7, Brager 4-9 0-0 9, Beardin 0-1 0-0 0, Herring 5-9 0-0 10. Totals 34-76 9-12 85.

Brewton-Parker 23 14 4 15—56

Lewis-Clark State 16 22 25 22—85

3-point goals — Brewton-Parker 9-34 (Keats 3-11, Mincey 3-10, Clay 2-9, Bryant 1-3, Evans 0-1); Lewis-Clark State 8-28 (Stevens 4-10, Sander 1-6, Brager 1-5, Byrd 1-3, Nelson 1-3). Rebounds — Brewton-Parker 39 (McRae 12); Lewis-Clark State 53 (Byrd 12). Assists — Brewton-Parker 9 (McRae 4); Lewis-Clark State 13 (Byrd, Stevens 4). Total fouls — Brewton-Parker 15; Lewis-Clark State 11. Fouled out — Brewton-Parker 1 (Bess). Technical fouls — none. Attendance — 846.

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MEN

HOPE INTERNATIONAL (21-10)

Sii 8-18 4-5 22, Carter Jr. 5-9 3-6 16, Shores 5-12 1-1 11, Ramirez 4-8 1-2 9, Williams 2-8 3-5 8, Christopher 1-3 3-3 5, Siamu 2-3 0-0 4, Murray 1-1 0-0 2, Felix 0-0 0-0 0, Dashiell 0-0 0-0 0, Hardiman 0-0 0-0 0, Sanchez 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-63 15-22 77.

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (23-8)

Bradley 5-14 7-7 21, Stockton 6-7 5-6 18, Hamilton 4-4 2-2 10, Brown 1-4 5-6 8, Lustig 3-4 0-0 6, Peoples Jr. 5-6 1-1 11, Boykins 5-6 0-0 11, Raynor 3-13 1-2 8. Totals 32-58, 21-24 93.

Halftime — Lewis-Clark State 32-20. 3-point goals — Hope International 6-21 (Carter Jr. 3-7, Sii 2-5, Williams 1-4, Shores 0-2, Ramirez 0-1, Christopher 0-1, Sanchez 0-1); Lewis-Clark State 8-27 (Bradley 4-10, Raynor 1-10, Brown 1-4, Stockton 1-2, Boykins 1-1). Rebounds — Hope International 26 (Williams 7); Lewis-Clark State 30 (Stockton, Lustig 6). Assists — Hope International 12 (Ramirez 4); Lewis-Clark State 11 (Stockton 3). Total fouls — Hope International 22; Lewis-Clark State 17. Technical fouls — Lewis-Clark State 1 (Boykins). Fouled out — Hope International 2 (Carter Jr., Ramirez); Lewis-Clark State 1 (Lustig). Attendance — N/A.

Kowatsch can be contacted at 208-848-2268, tkowatsch@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch.