Douglas Leads Corban in Loss to SOU
SALEM, Ore. - Junior Wade Douglas (Ontario, Ore.) scored a team-high 20 points on 7-for-16 shooting from the field, but Corban's men's basketball team came away on the wrong end of the stick in an 88-76 loss to the Red Raiders of Southern Oregon Saturday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
Making his first start in just over a month, Douglas reached the 20-point plateau for the first time since December 1st when the 6-foot-5 forward notched a season-high 29 points versus Northwest University. Playing without the services of the team's second leading scorer in freshman Ian Logan (Aloha, Ore.) due to a foot injury, Douglas and the Warriors could not overcome the inside presence of SOU's Ryon Pool, David Grant, and Kory Mohr.
Southern Oregon scored the game's opening five points via a jumper by Eli Thornton and a three-pointer by the Red Raiders' leading scorer Matt Cowell. Despite trailing for a majority of the opening half, Corban battled back and tied the game at 17-all when junior Jason Braun (Dallas, Ore.) hit a jumper with 7:46 remaining. The visiting Red Raiders increased their lead back up to five points (28-23) with 3:46 on the clock following a jumper by Trenton Fraser only to watch as the host Warriors used a 7-0 run over the span of 2:13 to gain a two-point lead (30-28). Braun increased Corban's lead to three points (31-28) via a free throw only to have SOU's Grant tie the game for the third time over the opening twenty minutes with a three-pointer with 33 seconds to go. With less than two seconds to go in the opening half, Corban had the ball on the near sideline in front of Southern Oregon's bench. With junior Kyle Masten (Salem, Ore.) taking the ball out, the 6-foot guard lofted a pass into Douglas who tipped the ball into a wide-open lane before Braun grabbed the ball and converted on a lay-up as the first half horn sounded therefore giving Corban a slim two-point advantage (33-31) heading into the locker room.
In the second half, both team battled over the first seven minutes with neither team gaining more than a three-point lead. With the game tied for the eighth and final time at 47-all, Southern Oregon's Cowell converted an unconventional four-point play with a three-pointer from 27 feet and then a free throw following a foul on Corban freshman Bryan Martin (Salem, Ore.). From that point on, the visiting Red Raiders never looked back and increased their lead to as much as 13 points (70-57) following another three-pointer by Grant with 6:17 remaining in the contest. Corban battled back once again and got within six points (78-72) after a three-pointer by Masten with 1:47 on the clock. Unfortunately for the Warriors, timely free throw shooting by Southern Oregon iced the Red Raiders' second straight win by the final margin of 12 points (88-76).
Masten, Braun, and freshman Clay Martin (Beaverton, Ore.) aided Douglas' scoring output by adding 14, 13, and 13 points respectively. Braun and Douglas led the Warriors' rebounding efforts with a team-high six and five boards respectively, while the Martin brothers -- Clay and sophomore Paul Martin (Beaverton, Ore.) -- grabbed four rebounds each.
For Southern Oregon, Cowell and Fraser ended with a game-high 22 points each as the back court tandem combined to shoot 14-for-21 from the field, including 6-for-9 from beyond the arc. Josh McDermott, Pool, and Grant aided the guard duo's point totals with 11, 10, and 10 points respectively, while Pool pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
As a team, Corban shot 25-for-63 (39.7%) from the field including 7-for-21 (33.3%) from beyond the arc and 19-for-29 (65.5%) from the free throw line. On the other hand, Southern Oregon torched the nets turning in a 32-for-54 (59.3%) performance from the field that included 8-for-16 (50.0%) from three-point land and 16-for-25 (64.0%) from the charity stripe.
With the loss, Corban drops to 6-9 overall, 1-4 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Southern Oregon improves to 6-10 overall, 2-4 in CCC action. The Warriors will hit the hardwood again on Tuesday, January 8th, when Corban hosts the Cavaliers of Concordia beginning at 7:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.