Freshman Jordan Carter led the Warriors in scoring for the third straight game, as Corban picked up a much-needed win over The College of Idaho Friday.
Balanced Effort Leads to Victory for Corban
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – An all-around balanced scoring effort helped lead Corban's men's basketball team to a hard-fought wire-to-wire win over The College of Idaho, 62-59, Friday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
Freshman Jordan Carter (Salem, Ore.) was the only Warrior in double figures with 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field, while a trio of Corban players – senior Ian Logan (Aloha, Ore.), junior Erik Cronrath (Battle Ground, Wash.), and junior Jake Mauermann (Clackamas, Ore.) – added nine point each. On the boards, three Warriors – Carter, Mauermann, and sophomore Jacob Kopra (Gresham, Ore.) – grabbed five rebounds each to go along with a seven-point, four-rebound effort by junior Jonathan Ramirez (New Britain, Conn.). Carter and senior Bryan Martin (Salem, Ore.) would tie for the lead in assists with a game-high tying five each, while Kopra had eight points off the Warriors' bench.
The first half began as a brick-fest with neither team hitting a bucket until the 16:22 mark, as Carter connected on a jumper that gave the Warriors an early 2-0 lead. The College of Idaho would tie the game at 2-2 just under a minute later before Corban used a 12-2 run over a span of five minutes to grab a 10-point cushion (14-4) with just under 11 minutes on the clock. The host Warriors would slowly push their lead to 15 points (30-15) following a Mauermann three-pointer with 93 seconds left. Despite a lay-in by C of I's Tyler Young with 19 seconds left, the Warriors never showed fear and went into the locker room with a 16-point lead (33-17) after senior Nash Keene (Aumsville, Ore.) netted his only points of the night via a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the corner.
Coming out of the locker room, Corban quickly extended its lead to a game-high 18 points (37-19) after a driving Carter lay-in at the 18:34 mark of the second half. The College of Idaho would begin a slow climb back into the game, as the 'Yotes used a 35-10 run over a span of 15-plus minutes to pull within seven points (54-47) after a lay-in by Matt Ballenger with 3:37 left. Corban would extended its lead back to double digits (59-47) following a bank three-pointer by Mauermann from the wing at the 2:43 mark. The visiting 'Yotes would never say die despite trailing by double figures, as The College of Idaho used another run to pull within three points (59-56) with 83 seconds on the clock. Over the next 69 seconds, Corban had a chance to ice the game at the free throw line but the Warriors went a combined 2-for-6 and clung to a slim five-point lead (61-56) with 14 ticks remaining. C of I's Ballenger wasted no time in pulling the 'Yotes within a single basket (61-59) with a three-pointer four seconds later. Needing to foul, C of I put Ramirez at the line for Corban and the junior point guard proceeded to make just one of his two attempts putting the Warriors up by three points (62-59) with seven seconds left. Following a Corban timeout, C of I threw a perfect pass by Ballenger to Miguel Rodrigiuez, who called timeout before falling out of bounds and giving the 'Yotes the ball in front of its bench with four seconds left. C of I would run one final play in an attempt to send the game into overtime, but Ballenger's three-point attempt at the buzzer fell short and handed Corban a hard-fought 62-59 win marking its second straight CCC victory.
The College of Idaho was led in scoring by Ballenger with a game-high 20 points, while Krispin Banks tallied 14 points and a game-high seven rebounds. Kelly McCarthy came of the 'Yotes' bench and provided eight points, while Rodriguez and McCarthy handed out a game-high tying five assists each.
As a team, Corban shot 24-for-48 (50.0%) from the field to go along with a combined 7-for-13 (53.8%) showing from beyond the three-point line and a 7-for-17 (41.2%) performance at the free throw line. On the other hand, The College of Idaho was a combined 25-for-77 (32.5%) from the field that included an ugly 8-for-35 (22.9%) performance in the first half. The visiting 'Yotes were also 5-for-30 (16.7%) from long distance that encompassed an 0-for-12 over the opening twenty minutes and a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line.
With tonight's victory, Corban improves to 13-7 overall and 3-5 in Cascade Collegiate Conference game. Meanwhile, The College of Idaho falls to 8-11 overall and 5-3 in league contests. The Warriors will return to the hardwood tomorrow night – Saturday, January 15th – against the NAIA's No. 12-ranked Mountaineers of Eastern Oregon beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.