LEWISTON, Idaho – The Rocky Mountain College men's basketball team opened a four-game road stretch with a 69-55 loss at No. 8 Lewis-Clark State on Thursday night in Frontier Conference action.
 
Rocky (11-7, 3-4 Frontier) shot 40.7 percent from the floor and struggled behind the arc at 2 of 10. Lewis-Clark State (17-2, 6-1) scored 42 points in the paint to help them shoot 52.9 percent on the night.
 
The Battlin' Bears had the game within 26-23 with 7:21 to play before halftime on a 3-pointer from Satchel McDonald. LC State responded to build a 37-29 lead by halftime and then went on a 13-2 run early in the second half to put the lead in double digits for the rest of the game.
 
Jared Samuelson led Rocky with 14 points on 5 of 13 shooting. He also grabbed a team-best six rebounds and added three assists. This is his 12th straight game scoring in double figures.
 
Rocky scored 38 points in the paint in defeat and they got eight points from 15 LCSC turnovers. The Battlin' Bears had 11 assists and committed 13 turnovers.
 
McDonald added 13 points for Rocky. Latrelle Franklin and Danny Betcher finished with eight points apiece.
 
The Warriors got a lift of 25 points off the bench and they had a 33-28 edge in rebounds. Race Martin led the home team with 11 points.
 
Rocky now heads to Dillon, Mont. for a Saturday game at No. 16 Montana Western. Tipoff from Straugh Gymnasium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.