LEWISTON, Idaho — The Lewis-Clark State men’s and women’s basketball teams earned narrow Frontier Conference wins over visiting Montana Tech on Thursday. The 18th-ranked Lewis-Clark men topped Tech 80-75, while the 17th-ranked Lewis-Clark women got a 53-43 win over the Orediggers.
No. 18 Lewis-Clark State men 80, Montana Tech 75
Troy Owens scored 31 points and Taylor England added 20, but it wasn’t enough as the Montana Tech men’s basketball team fell at No. 18 Lewis-Clark State, 80-75, on Thursday.
Owens made 10 of 23 shots from the floor, including a 7-for-12 showing from beyond the 3-point arc, to lead Tech. England added 10 rebounds for the double-double, and Nate Ward contributed 14 points. The rest of Tech’s lineup mustered only 10 total points, though, as Lewis-Clark used a balanced effort to get the Frontier Conference win.
Seven Warriors scored at least seven points, with four hitting double figures. Derrick White was a perfect 7 for 7 from the floor for 16 points, Dana Abe added 14, and Cordel Hankerson and Josiah Westbrook each scored 10. As a team, Lewis-Clark made 32 of 62 field goals (51.6 percent) and 8 of 19 3-pointers (42.1 percent).
The Warriors (17-6 overall, 6-5 Frontier Conference) return to action on Saturday, hosting Montana Western.
Tech (15-9, 5-7) is off until a Feb. 8 trip to Montana State-Northern.
No. 17 Lewis-Clark State women 53, Montana Tech 43
Lewis-Clark State used a 15-2 second-half run to record a 53-43 win over Montana Tech in Frontier Conference women’s basketball action on Thursday.
Tech took a 34-31 lead midway through the third quarter on a Mesa Williams bucket, but the 17th-ranked Warriors answered with the game-deciding run over the next six-plus minutes, building a 46-36 lead early in the fourth quarter. Lewis-Clark kept Tech at bay the rest of the way to secure the win.
The Warriors got 12 points from Peyton Souvenir and 10 from Jossilyn Blackman. The Orediggers were paced by Mollie Peoples’s 16 points. Lewis-Clark owned a big advantage on the boards, out-rebounding Tech 47-27. The Warriors corralled 13 offensive rebounds.
Lewis-Clark improved to 17-5 overall, 7-4 conference and next hosts third-ranked Montana Western on Saturday.
Tech, which fell to 12-11, 2-10, is now off until Feb. 8 when it travels to Montana State-Northern.
