LEWISTON, Idaho - All good things must come to an end, which is what happened during Friday night's Cascade Conference Semifinal matchup between Multnomah and Lewis-Clark State College, as the Warriors (24-6) utilized a strong first half performance to propel themselves to Monday night's championship game, ending Multnomah's (17-12) historic season with a 98-78 loss for the Lions.
Despite the heartbreaking loss, head coach Tayo Gem had only positive things to say about his team's final campaign in program history. "Tonight just wasn't our night, but how about an incredible and historic season! It was all positive in the locker room - we spent time sharing memories and thinking back on the season." Gem had a goal for himself and his team this season, which was the idea of "getting better at being us," which was exactly what the Multnomah men's basketball team did all year. "All Coach Curry and I wanted to do was help this group reach it's full potential - we accomplished just that! I love this group, and we will forever be connected!"
The Lions outscored the hosts 50-46 in the second half, but had a significant deficit to make up after trailing by 24 heading into the halftime break. The visitors also did well when it came to taking advantage of LC State's miscues in possession, scoring 25 points off of the host's 20 turnovers. The Warriors did manage hold a slight edge over Multnomah on the boards, pulling in 42 rebounds to Multnomah's 35, while also out shooting the Lions across every area of the floor.
Friday night's game was all about
Noah McCord, Multnomah's defensive general, who led the team with 17 points, 6 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Other bright spots for the Lions were guards
Alileyon Ford and
Marje Windfield, who each scored 17 points and 13 points respectively off the bench.
Braedon Edison and
Kadeem Nelson each picked up six rebounds and combined for a pair of steals, while
Noah Madsen and
Keilan Torkornoo added four rebounds, two assists, and three steals between the pair of sophomores.
The Multnomah men's basketball team closes out the year as the most successful men's basketball team in Multnomah history since joining the NAIA, with a 17-12 record on the year and a 12-10 record in CCC play. They were also the first and only team to record a post-season win in school history.
