Logan Leads Corban Victory vs. Walla Walla
SALEM, Ore. - For the third straight game, freshman Ian Logan (Aloha, Ore.) led the Warriors with a team-high 18 points and seven rebounds as Corban's men's basketball team defeated Walla Walla, 97-89, Saturday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center to conclude the F & W Fence Co. Basketball Classic.
Sixth-year head coach Justin Sherwood stuck with the starting line-up from the night before that was different for the first time all season, and the gamble paid off as the Warriors jumped out to a 26-9 lead in the first 12-plus minutes of the game. Despite having the game knotted at 7-all with 15:05 on the clock, Corban used a 19-2 run over a span of 8:08 to gain the double-digit advantage.
The Warriors pushed their lead to as much as 20 points (35-15) following a lay-up by senior Hannes Gehring (Lake Oswego, Ore.) with 4:19 remaining in the opening half. Walla Walla climbed back into the game via a 13-6 run over the final four-plus minutes and trailed by 13 points (41-28) at halftime.
Coming out of intermission, Corban pushed its lead to as much as 21 points (70-49) with 6:42 to go in the game thanks to an offensive rebound by senior Ben Sisler (Corvallis, Ore.) that quickly turned into a made three-pointer by the 6-foot-3 guard.
With 5:31 showing on the clock and trailing by 15 points (72-57), Walla Walla used a 30-second time out and were instructed by their head coach to begin fouling therefore sending the Warriors to the free throw line. Using the unorthodox method, the visiting Wolves got to within five points (91-86) thanks to timely three-point shooting and untimely missed free throws by Corban.
Despite the Warriors' inability to get the ball past half-court, Corban scored its final 25 points at the free throw line led by junior Kyle Masten's (Salem, Ore.) perfect 8-for-8 performance down the stretch. With five different Wolves fouling out, the Warriors took advantage of the depleted roster and clung to the final margin of eight points (97-89) en route to snapping a five-game losing streak.
Along with Logan, junior Jason Braun (Dallas, Ore.) added 17 points and tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven. Masten, Gehring, and freshman Clay Martin (Beaverton, Ore.) all scored in double figures with 14, 10, and 10 points respectively while Sisler and sophomore Ben Potloff (Keizer, Ore.) added 9 and 7 points respectively. On the boards, Masten and Gehring aided the aforementioned duo's rebounding efforts with five boards each.
For Walla Walla, Brett Weisner led all players with a game-high 29 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field that included a 5-for-9 performance from beyond the arc. Gerard Dauphin, Ryan Wilson, and Chris Purdom added 22, 15, and 15 points respectively, while Dauphin led all players with a game-high 10 rebounds and seven assists.
As a team, Corban ended the night shooting 29-for-59 (49.2%) from the field to go along with the team's 8-for-24 (33.3%) performance from beyond the arc and the Warriors' season-high 31-for-45 (68.9%) output from the free throw line. On the other hand, Walla Walla turned in a 32-for-67 (47.8%) performance from the field, 8-for-26 (30.8%) showing from behind the 3-point line, and a combined 17-for-30 (56.7%) output from the free throw line.
With the win, Corban improves to 3-7 overall, while Walla Walla falls to 3-9 on the season. The Warriors will return to action on Friday, December 14th, when they travel north to Walla Walla, Washington, to take part in the Wildhorse Resort Classic against host Whitman College beginning at 7:00 p.m.
NOTE: The unofficial F & W Fence Co. Basketball Classic championship game took place earlier in the evening when the NAIA's No. 6-ranked Warner Pacific took on Montana State-Northern. The Lights of MSU-Northern upset the Knights, 82-79, to take the classic trophy back home to Havre, Montana.