Northwest Christian got an all-around effort from its players tonight, as six-out-of-11 Beacons scored 8-or-more points against Corban.
Quick-Warner Leads Northwest Christian to Victory Over Corban to Extend Beacons' Streak to Three Straight Wins
EUGENE, Ore. – Despite a game-high 22 points by Corban sophomore Clay Martin that included a 17-point performance in the first half, Northwest Christian's Erik Quick-Warner tallied 18 points and a game-high seven assists in the Beacons' 90-79 victory over the Warriors Saturday afternoon inside the Morse Event Center.
This afternoon's game was moved up four hours due to the weather forecast for the Willamette Valley, as both schools wanted to get the conference double header in without having to reschedule in mid-January.
Northwest Christian came out strong, building a 20-8 lead over the first six minutes of the game. That is when Clay Martin took over the game, scoring Corban’s next ten points en route to a 15-2 Warrior run that left the Beacons trailing, 23-22 with 9:47 to play. Corban built their lead to as many as five (42-38), but NCU climbed back to tie the game at 42-42 on a Jordan Whittenburg three pointer. The Warriors then took a 46-44 lead into the intermission. Clay Martin finished the half with 17 points for Corban, shooting 6-for-7 from the field including a pair of three pointers. Erik Quick-Warner led NCU in the half with 12 points.
In the second half, Corban quickly extended its lead to five points (61-56) following a jumper by junior Ben Potloff with 13:28 left in the game. That was the largest lead that Corban would hold for the remainder of the game, as Northwest Christian used an 18-2 run over the span of five minutes and eight seconds that was capped off by back-to-back three-pointers from Whittenburg en route to grabbing an 11-point lead (74-63) with 8:16 remaining. The Warriors would get no closer than six points (77-71) following a pair of Ian Logan free throws with 5:27 left, as Northwest Christian would close out the game on a 13-6 run that was highlighted by four straight free throws by Erik Quick-Warner in the final 19 seconds for the ending margin of 11 points (90-79).
Northwest Christian was led by Quick-Warner's team-high point effort that included a perfect 8-for-8 showing at the free throw line. Meanwhile, Andrew Williams and Cameron Marshall added 12 points each to go along with Dylan Perry's 11-point performance. Williams pulled down a game-high tying 10 rebounds for the Beacons, while Quick-Warner passed out a game-high seven assists for NCU.
Along with Clay Martin's fifth straight 20-plus point performance for Corban, Logan and Paul Martin added 18 and 14 points respectively. Logan pulled down a game-high tying 10 rebounds, while Paul Martin handed out a team-best six assists.
As a team, Corban shot 31-for-60 (51.7%) from the field that included an amazing 17-for-28 (60.7%) shooting in the first half. The Warriors finished the game 5-for-12 (41.7%) from beyond the three-point line and 12-for-18 (66.7%) at the free throw line. On the other hand, Northwest Christian shot 31-for-61 (50.8%) from the field that included a 16-for-30 (53.3%) showing in the second half. The host Beacons were 7-for-18 (38.9%) from beyond the arc and 21-for-27 (77.8%) at the charity stripe.
Today's victory pushes Northwest Christian's winning streak to three games and improves its record to 9-4 overall & 3-1 in CCC action. Meanwhile, Corban falls to 5-7 overall and 0-3 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. The Beacons will return to action in 2009 on Friday, January 2nd, against the NAIA's No. 22-ranked Mountaineers of Eastern Oregon beginning at 7:30 p.m. in La Grande.