PORTLAND | With a Top 25 contending team in C.C. Perry Gym this evening, the Warner Pacific University Men's Basketball team (12-12, 8-8) needed a complete team-effort if they were going to pull off the upset bid against the (RV) Lewis-Clark State College (15-8, 8-7). Knights' Head Coach Jamayne Potts got exactly that from his squad, as they managed to defeat the Warriors in an impressive 75-63 win, handing the Warriors their third consecutive loss this season.
 
After both the Knights and Warriors exchanged opening possession layups, Warner Pacific senior guard Isaac Etter hit a deep three-pointer to break the tie, and permanently give the WPU the lead for the remainder of this contest.
 
Warner Pacific shared the rock at an incredible rate during the first half, as Etter was the team's highest scoring player with six points at the halftime break, followed by five different Knights that had five points apiece, along with one additional four point effort. Senior forward Darius Traylor had an even five points and five rebounds in the first 20 minutes of play, leading the team in rebounds by coming off the weak side to easily pull down boards off the glass.
 
The Knights took advantage of multiple mismatched defenders that the Warriors attempted to allow in the second half, as the Coach Potts led offense exploited numerous defensive holes in the LC State lineup to stretch the lead as high as 22 points with 8:47 remaining in the contest.
 
The Warriors pulled to within 14 points with less than five minutes remaining in the Saturday night matchup, but it proved to be too little, too late for LC State, as the benches were cleared on both sides after the lead shrunk no further, resulting in the Knights' 12-point victory.
 
Warner Pacific had undoubtedly their best offensive performance of the season today, scoring on 51% of their field goal attempts for the game, while hitting 42.9% of their shots from beyond the three-point line to force LC State into making in-game modifications they just couldn't find answers for.
 
Etter finished the evening with 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field, along with hitting three of his four attempts from beyond the three-point arc. Traylor added nine points and recorded six rebounds in his 33 minutes of play, and sophomore guard Tyrese Yussuf-Willis once again led the team in assist with four on the evening to partner with 10 points of his own.
 
LC State guard Nathan Fromm came off the bench to lead the game in scoring with 19 points, scoring on 50% of his attempts and going 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. Forward Al Sommerfield added to the Warriors efforts with 16 points and seven rebounds, adding a pair of assists along the way.
 
Warner Pacific will jump back into conference play action next Friday, February 4^th, as they travel to Olympia, Wash. to take on The Evergreen State College Geoducks at 7:30pm PDT, following the completion of the WPU vs TESC Women's Basketball game beforehand.