HOUSTON, Texas—Lewis & Clark College men's basketball hung tough with #14 University of St. Thomas (Texas) for the entire first half, but the host Celts used a 30-10 run bridging the two halves, to earn a 67-50 win in the NCAA Tournament First Round. 
 
THE BASICS
 
#14 St. Thomas (Texas) 67, Lewis & Clark 50
(Lewis & Clark 15-12) 
(St. Thomas 26-2) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Seniors Isaac Ticeson and Mikey Medlock Jr. each finished in double-figures to lead Lewis & Clark in the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002. 

Ticeson scored 12 of his team-high 14 points in the first half and finished the game shooting 6-10 from the field. He tied for the team lead with his five rebounds. Medlock Jr. chipped in 11 points on 3-5 shooting from distance and added one assist and one rebound. 
 
Juniors Taien Jackson and Andre Treadwell tied for third on the team with seven points apiece. 
 
Senior Sebastian DePrez posted six points, five rebounds and the team's two blocks in 17 minute off the bench. First year point guard Jake Rodriguez notched a career-high eight assists, to go along with two points and three rebounds. 
 
Angel Johnson and Andrew Adebo paced the hosts who improved to 15-0 at home this season. Johnson recorded 15 points, eight rebounds and five steals. Adebo chipped in 14 points, five rebounds and three assists. Five other Celts finished with six or more points as St. Thomas earned their first NCAA Tournament win in program history. 
 
Lewis & Clark played extremely competitively in the first half and were tied at 17-17 with under five minutes to go in the first half. 
 
Ticeson and Medlock Jr. combined for the team's first 11 points and 13 of their first 17. 
 
After falling behind 14-9 with 14:20 left in the half, Lewis & Clark went on an 8-2 run to take their lone lead of the game at 17-16. Treadwell began the run with a tip-in layup off a Ticeson miss and Ticeson followed with a layup to cut the deficit to one. After a media timeout, Kody Uyesugi found DePrez for a layup to give Lewis & Clark a one-point lead with 10:51 to play. 
 
The Pioneers would go ice cold offensively over the next 10 minutes. While their defense held the Celts to just three made field goals, the Pioneers went scoreless for 9:24 and found themselves trailing 24-17. 
 
Ticeson hit a jumper to end the drought and bring Lewis & Clark within five. Adebo and Ticeson traded free throws over the final minute, but Charles Gitonga drained a 3-pointer in the final 15 seconds to give the hosts a 29-21 edge at the break. 
 
St. Thomas kept the momentum going into the second half as they outscored Lewis & Clark 18-6 to start the second half to open up a game-high 47-27 lead. 
 
Lewis & Clark immediately answered with a 7-0 run to get back within 13. DePrez hit a pair of layups and Medlock Jr. drained a 3-pointer to get the Pioneers within striking distance with 8:01 to play. 
 
St. Thomas pushed their advantage back to 20, only for Lewis & Clark to go on a 11-2 run to make it an 11-point game (56-44). Griffin Datcher IV opened the flurry with a jumper and Rodriguez and Treadwell added two points apiece. Sam Henderson knocked down a 3-pointer and Ticeson capped the run with a layup. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Lewis & Clark shot 48.8 percent (20-41) from the field, 40.0 percent (6-15) from distance and 4-6 (66.6%) from the free throw line. 
• St. Thomas finished the game shooting 10-20 on 3-pointers. 
• Friday night's game marked the final games in a Pioneers uniform for Lewis & Clark's eight seniors: Ryan Trunkett, Nik Berry, Nate Berg, Ticeson, Medlock Jr., DePrez, Henderson and Datcher IV. 
• Rodriguez's eight assists are tied for the most by a Lewis & Clark player this season. 

WHAT'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark are expected to bring back 10 players for the 2025-26 season.