Three's were dropping like flies tonight, as Corban notched a home season-high with 15 trifectas in its victory over Cascade.
Six Warriors Score in Double Figures in Win Over T-birds
SALEM, Ore. -- Senior Hannes Gehring (Lake Oswego, Ore.) led six players in double figures with a season and game-high 23 points, as Corban's men's basketball team concluded its home schedule with a 100-92 victory over Cascade Saturday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
Gehring's season-high was not the only bright spot for the Warriors on Senior Recognition Night, as fellow senior Ben Sisler (Corvallis, Ore.) came out and scored the Warriors' first 12 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting performance from beyond the arc en route to scoring all 15 of his points in the game's opening twenty minutes.
As mentioned, Corban came out on fire and quickly built a 12-2 advantage in the half's opening 2:27 before extending that lead to 19 points (21-2) with 14:12 on the clock. A jumper by freshman Clay Martin (Beaverton, Ore.) put the Warriors up 20 points (25-5) with just under 12 minutes to play before Corban extended its lead to as much as 28 points (48-20) following a three-pointer by junior Jason Braun (Dallas, Ore.) with 2:57 remaining in the opening half. Cascade would close out the first half on a 13-4 run to pull within 19 points (52-33) at intermission.
In the second half, the visiting Thunderbirds began to whittle away at the Warriors' lead and got within six points (58-52) via a 19-6 run over the opening 6:19 of the final stanza. A 9-0 Corban run over a span of 2:37 would push the Warriors' lead back to 15 points (67-52), but Cascade would not give up as the visiting T-birds used another comeback to get within single digits (81-73) with 5:41 hanging on the clock. The Warriors built their lead back to 14 points (92-78) following a lay-up by junior Wade Douglas (Ontario, Ore.) with 2:49 left, but Cascade would once again use a run that would pull them as close as five points (95-90) with 42 ticks remaining. Fortunately for the Warriors, free throw shooting down the stretch by junior Kyle Masten (Salem, Ore.) would ice the much-needed victory as the 6-foot point guard connected on 5-out-of-6 shots from the charity stripe in the game's final minute for the final margin of eight points (100-92).
Along with Gehring and Sisler, Douglas and Martin scored 17 points each to go along with Braun's 10 and Masten's 10. The Warrior starters combined to score 65 of Corban's 100 points, as the host team eclipsed triple digits on the score board for the first time since November 23rd when Corban defeated William Jessup, 108-99 in double overtime.
On the boards, Sisler pulled down a team-high six rebounds to go along with his game-high six assists. Meanwhile, Douglas and Gehring aided the cause on the glass with five rebounds each to go along with Martin's four and Masten's three.
Cascade was led by Tayo Cotton and Erving Adams, who tallied a team-high 20 points each on a combined 18-for-29 shooting from the field to go along with a combined 3-for-6 showing from beyond the arc and a combined 5-for-9 performance at the free throw line. Meanwhile, Ben Pawlek, Eric Taylor, Jr., and Brandon Lott added 18, 15, and 10 points respectively to go along with Adams game-high 10 rebounds.
As a team, Corban shot 31-for-67 (46.3%) from the field including 15-for-28 (53.6%) from beyond the arc and 23-for-30 (76.7%) from the free throw line. Corban's 15 three-pointers as a team was one shy of its season-high that was recorded last weekend at Eastern Oregon, as the Warriors knocked down 16 treys in a losing effort. With Sisler's first trifecta of the night in the game's opening 15 seconds, Corban extends its record to 720 straight games with at least one made three-point basket which is tops among all levels nation-wide.
On the other hand, Cascade turned in a 36-for-75 (48.0%) performance from the field that included a 9-for-25 (36.0%) showing from three-point land and an 11-for-18 (61.1%) showing from the charity stripe.
With the victory, Corban improves to 10-18 overall, 5-13 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Cascade remains winless in conference play at 0-18, while falling 5-21 overall. The Warriors will hit the hardwood again on Friday, February 22nd, when Corban travels south to take on the Red Raiders of Southern Oregon beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Ashland.