Senior forward Drew Hottinger was named the Avista tournament MVP after averaging 16.7 points, 12 rebounds, and 2.7 blocked shots over the three game span.

The Lewiston Bengals are keeping the momentum rolling, with a 74-48 victory over the Moscow bears Monday night.

"I think that we do a lot with our press. We try to get up in you, and focus on defense more so that we can turn our defense into offense," Hottinger said.

The Bengals play with a defensive edge all 32 minutes of the game, but Hottinger was the one that shined on offense in the Avista holiday tournament.

"It was a great help to my teammates too, they were getting me the ball in the right position, and just working hard everybody worked as a collective group."

The Bengal's success on the court directly translates to what they've been working on in practice, and in the offseason.

"We stick together as a team really well. We meshed this summer going to a ton of tournaments and I think as a group, we play really well," Hottinger said.

"We focus on each other all the time, we work super hard in practice. We still have that competitive edge, but off the court we're still good friends."

Hottinger hopes their team culture can propel them to win their competitive Inland Empire league this year.

"Our goal is to always win the league, that's everything we've been pushing more this summer and fall, and that's all we want to do in the moment. We just want to take it one game at a time, prep for each game."