Sophomore Geoffrey Martin and his "Dunkin' Disciple" teammates accounted for nearly half of Corban's points Saturday in a win over New Hope Christian.
Corban's "Dunkin' Disciples" Score Big in Win
BOX SCORE
EUGENE, Ore. – When putting together a puzzle, a person cannot complete the masterpiece without many parts working and fitting together to form the final work of art.
That is exactly what happened Saturday night, as Corban's men's basketball team relied on its six-player bench in order to pick up its third straight win via a come-from-behind 83-76 victory over New Hope Christian College inside the Rexius Event Center.
Sophomore Geoffrey Martin (Salem, Ore.) led the new-crowned "Dunkin' Disciples" that make up the Warriors' bench with a career-high 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting from the field that included a 3-for-3 showing from beyond the three-point line. The second-year Warrior was aided by his fellow bench teammates that tallied a season-high 38 points, as fellow sophomore Marcus Butler (Patterson, Calif.), junior Drew Ross (Cashmere, Wash.), and sophomore Jacob Kopra (Gresham, Ore.) chipped in with eight, seven, and seven points respectively.
Freshman Jordan Carter (Salem, Ore.) led Corban for the second straight night with a team-high 15 points, while junior Erik Cronrath (Battle Ground, Wash.) had nine points and a team-high six rebounds. Senior Nash Keene (Aumsville, Ore.) added eight points, while fellow senior Ian Logan (Aloha, Ore.) turn in a seven-point performance.
In the opening half, New Hope Christian quickly jumped out to a five-point lead (9-4) thanks to an Alex Brock jumper in the paint with 16:19 remaining. Corban would battle back to tie the game at 9-all thanks to a 5-0 run that concluded with a fast break lay-in by Carter before he capped off an old-fashion three-point play with a free throw for a one-point Warrior lead (10-9) with 15:31 on the clock. Over the next 12-plus minutes, Corban used a 36-18 run to grab its largest lead of the opening half (46-27) before New Hope Christian closed out the half on a 9-0 run to pull within 10 points (46-36) at intermission.
The opening five-plus minutes of the second half would belong to the host Deacons, as New Hope Christian used a 14-4 run to knot the game at 50-50 following a Tyler Vanderhoff jumper with 14:54 left. Not liking what he saw, ninth-year head coach Justin Sherwood pulled his starters off the floor and turned the game over to his bench. Over the next four-plus minutes, the visiting Warriors used a 16-6 run en route to securing a six-point advantage (66-60) thanks to a Martin three-pointer with 10:15 on the clock. Sherwood would bring back his starters at that point and the Warriors never relinquished the lead, as Corban pushed its advantage to 14 points (78-64) after a Carter lay-in with 5:40 remaining. New Hope Christian would cut the Warriors' lead in half but could not fight the clock, as Corban settled for the hard-fought seven-point win (83-76).
New Hope Christian was led in scoring by Brock with a game-high 24 points on 9-for-17 shooting from the field, while Charles Swann and Tyler Dragt added 16 and 12 points respectively. Swann would grab a game-high eight rebounds for the Deacons, while Vanderhoff handed out a game-high seven assists to go along with eight points.
As a team, Corban shot 33-for-56 (58.9%) from the field that included a scorching 19-for-31 (61.3%) over the opening twenty minutes. The Warriors were also 7-for-20 (35.0%) from beyond the three-point line and a combined 10-for-18 (55.6%) at the free throw line. On the other hand, New Hope Christian was 31-for-59 (52.5%) from the field, 7-for-23 (30.4%) from long distance, and 7-for-13 (53.8%) at the charity stripe.
With tonight's win, Corban reached the 10-win plateau for the first time since the 2007-08 season improving to 10-4 overall. Meanwhile, New Hope Christian falls to 5-6 on its season. The Warriors will be back in action on Monday, December 20th, when they host NCAA Division III and Northwest Conference member George Fox beginning at 7:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.