Men's Basketball | 11/26/2024 9:46:00 PM

Box Score LEWISTON, Idaho — Walla Walla rallied from a hot start from No. 22 Lewis-Clark State to get within five, but dropped its Cascade Conference opener 94-59 at the P1FCU Activity Center on Tuesday.

The Wolves are now 0-5 overall and 0-1 in conference play after the loss.

Senior Almonds Sebirokwa led Walla Walla with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Sophomore Soren Dalan was a presence inside with nine points and nine rebounds. Senior Steele Twiford finished with seven points and six boards.

The Wolves shot well in the first half with a 14-of-31 (45.2%) performance from the field including 5-of-11 (45.5%) from beyond the 3-point line. Walla Walla was 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes.

"After a really good and intense week of practice we were feeling very confident and prepared with our gameplan," Walla Walla coach Brandon Broome said. "We had the fight and focus early. Unfortunately, some of our bad habits reared their head and things got out of hand. We will get back to work after this break and show there is no quit in the Wolves."

HOW IT HAPPENED

Dalan scored the first Walla Walla points of the game with a layup. Sebirokwa added a layup of his own a minute and a half later. LC State went on an 11-3 run to take a 12-point advantage. 

Dillon Wasser hit two 3-pointers, Josue Mireles added a jumper and Dalan scored inside to make it a six-point game with 12:32 to go in the first half.

Twiford scored on a layup, Thomas Mestrov nailed a 3-pointer and Sebirokwa got behind the defense on a missed shot for an easy fastbreak dunk. The two teams traded baskets over the next several minutes and Sebirokwa hit two free throws to make it a 35-30 LC State lead with 4:27 left in the first half. The Warriors would go on a 15-7 run to take a 13-point advantage into the break.

LC State started the second half on a 13-0 run to double its lead before Sebirokwa and Andrew Vaughn were able to connect on a pair of jumpers for the Wolves. A 3-point play by Dalan cut the lead to 21, but that was as close as Walla Walla was able to get the rest of the contest.

UP NEXT

Walla Walla will travel to Olympia, Wash. to face the Geoducks of Evergreen State at 2 p.m. on Dec. 6. The Wolves then travel to Kirkland, Wash. to take on Northwest University at 9 p.m. on Dec. 7 as CCC play continues.