The last time the Lewis-Clark State men’s basketball team faced Montana State-Northern, the Lights took away the Warriors’ vaunted 3-point shot.

But the No. 7 Warriors — or Trystan Bradley at least — returned to form on Friday at the Activity Center to hold off their unranked visitors in the Frontier Conference tournament semifinal round, 73-68.

Up next, the Warriors (28-3) play host to Carroll College at 7 p.m. Monday in the FC title game.

Bradley, a 6-foot-8 forward from Lewiston, scored a career-high 27 points, going 5-for-8 from the outside and hitting back-to-back 3-pointers down the stretch to spur a 10-2 run.

With 5:06 left, Bradley hit a 3 right in front of his team’s bench to give the Warriors a 65-60 lead before swishing another 30 seconds later to spot the hosts a six-point advantage against the Lights (20-12).

“I wasn’t really thinking about it. I just caught the ball and was open and shot it,” Bradley said. “I was just feeling it, I guess.

“I was getting open shots and my teammates were getting me the ball.”

One of those teammates, Jake Albright, scored on a hook shot with 3:45 left to extend L-C’s lead to 70-62. Albright recalled his teammates spreading the floor and “letting me do my thing.”

Added Albright, “We practice hooks every single day in practice, so it was just kind of a routine thing.”

It was hardly routine when Josiah Westbrook scored a floater with 2:23 left to give the Warriors a double-digit lead. The shot clock had been winding down and “we had to find a way to score,” Westbrook said.

So did the Lights, who pulled within 72-65 with 90 seconds left on a 3 by David Harris.

But the visitors from Havre, Mont., missed their next six shots — the first of those with just under a minute left having been the one that could have made the Warriors sweat the most.

L-C’s Travis Yenor secured the resulting defensive rebound and the Lights didn’t score again until, with six seconds left, they hit a 3 to pull within six. Yenor finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Bradley led L-C with nine boards.

“Every rebound is crucial,” Yenor said, “especially later in the game.”

BRADLEY TAKES CONTROL — Bradley scored 13 of L-C’s first 15 points and started the game 4-for-6 from the outside — unofficially. One of his 3s was waved off because of a teammate’s illegal screen.

But his hot start validated Warriors coach Austin Johnson’s feeling that “this was a matchup we liked.”

And why’s that?

“Because of his perimeter skills,” Johnson said.

The Lights’ coach agreed.

“He definitely hit some big shots tonight and that put us in a tough spot,” MSU-N coach Shawn Huse said.

MONTANA STATE-NORTHERN (20-12)

Crutchfield 1-3 0-0 2, Harris 6-14 0-0 15, McCadney 6-17 3-3 18, Huse 6-15 1-1 14, Bray 3-11 0-0 9, Jackson 3-6 0-0 7, Keltner 1-4 1-2 3, Reynolds 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-70 5-6 68.

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (28-3)

Yenor 4-9 3-4 13, Bradley 10-16 2-4 27, Westbrook 2-5 0-0 5, Bailey 1-6 2-3 5, Mitchell 3-7 0-1 7, Stevenson 0-1 3-4 3, Hughes 1-4 0-0 2, Boyd 0-0 1-2 1, Albright 4-9 2-3 10. Totals 25-57 13-21 73.

Halftime — L-C 38-37. 3-point goals — MSU-N 11-28 (Harris 3-5, McCadney 3-6, Huse 1-6, Bray 3-8, Jackson 1-3), L-C 10-28 (Yenor 2-3, Bradley 5-8, Westbrook 1-3, Bailey 1-5, Mitchell 1-4, Stevenson 0-1, Hughes 0-3, Albright 0-1). Assists — MSU-N 9 (Huse 4), L-C 16 (Mitchell 9). Rebounds —MSU-N 44 (Keltner 13), L-C 39 (Bradley 9). Fouls — MSU-N 16, L-C 9. Fouled out — none. Technicals — none.

Edelman may be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 848-2277.