EUGENE, Ore. – The Bushnell men's basketball team had a lead at halftime but found themselves unable to make enough stops on defense down the stretch, falling to Lewis-Clark State College on Sunday evening in Cascade Collegiate Conference action, 88-78.
 
Leading 36-33 at the break despite committing 14 first-half fouls, Bushnell held a 47-42 advantage with 14 minutes remaining. The Warriors, however, hit back-to-back three-pointers to fuel an 11-0 run that put he visitors in the lead for good.
 
The Warriors (6-5, 3-2 CCC) shot 52.5% in the game and hit six of their 11 three-point attempts in the second half to keep the Beacons at bay. Bushnell (3-8, 1-4) had a strong shooting night, hitting 51% from the field, along with a 16-for-17 performance at the free-throw line, but the team made just 4-of-14 three-point attempts on the night.
 
The Warriors out-rebounded Bushnell 37-25 including 11 offensive boards as they out-scored the Beacons 18-4 on second-chance points.
 
Bushnell was led by Stevie Schlabach, scoring 21 points as he shot 7-for-12 from the field and a perfect 7-for-7 at the charity stripe. Spencer Hoffman also had a strong night that included a late three-pointer to lift him to 21 points, giving him his sixth-consecutive 20-point performance. The junior center had just two points at halftime as he was one of five Beacons to pick up multiple fouls in the first half.
 
Kaden Sand added 11 points and Trevon Richmond posted ten points with a game-high five assists and team-leading five rebounds.
 
LC State was led by Davian Brown, scoring a game-high 24 points which included a pair of threes and a 10-for-10 shooting night at the free-throw line. Brown added three steals and three assists to lead the team. John Lustig scored 13 points off the bench, hitting three threes while Silas Bennion (12), Oreon Courtney (11) and Grayson Hunt (10) were also in double-figures. Courtney led all players with nine rebounds.
 
After a quick Christmas break, the Beacons will be back in action in two weeks, closing out 2022 on the road with a trip to Evergreen on December 30 and Northwest on December 31.