Jordan Call led four other players in double figures with 17.
Northwest U. Defeats a Determined Corban Team
KIRKLAND, Wash. – No. 12 Northwest University had four players score in double figures as they defeated Corban University, 77-65, to post their 18th win of the season and improve their Cascade Conference record to 8-2. Corban drops to 11-11 on the season, 3-7 in CCC play.
Northwest U. led the entire way tonight as they broke out to an early, 13-8 lead. Josiah Sebens would make it a two point game (17-15) with his jumper at the 12:38 mark, but then Northwest would go on a 10-0 run to lead 27-15 punctuated by two 3 pointers, one by Jason Waltman and another by Ahmaad Cook with 7:36 left in the half. The feisty Warriors wouldn’t go away easily and they would battle back to pull to within 4 points, 31-27, on Brelin Powell’s driving layup with 2:12 to go until halftime. NU’s Tyler Mendezona would follow Powell’s shot with a 3 pointer and Jacob Kopra would answer with his jumper for Corban with 55 seconds on the clock as Northwest would take 34-29 lead at the break. Both teams shot an identical 43% in the first half on 12 for 28 shooting.
In the second half, Northwest U. would open up some distance between the two teams and led by 11 points, 44-33, at the 14:47 mark, but a tip in by James Green and two free throws by Erik Cronrath would make it a 7 point ball game with 12:56 showing on the clock. NU would again build a 12 point, 51-39 lead (11:56), but Corban’s Dustin Moore would drain a trey to make it a 56-51 game with 6:59 left in the game as the Warriors would step up their pressure defense. A steal and layup by Jonathan Ramirez would close the gap to 56-53, but four straight points by NU would give the Eagles a 7 point lead with 5:09 remaining in the game. Five points by Ahmaad Cook and five by Jordan Call would increase the NU lead to 13 points, 70-57, with just 2:11 left in the game. Northwest would go 5 for 6 from the free throw line the remainder of the way to clinch their 18th victory of the season.
Jordan Call (17 points), Jason Waltman (16 points), Rich Skillman (12 points) and Michael Greene (10 points) all scored in double numbers for the Eagles (18-2, 8-2 CCC). NU shot 50% for the night, 33% from the 3-point line and out rebounded Corban 36 to 26. Senior guard, Tyler Mendezona, led the team with 7 rebounds.
Corban (11-11, 3-7 CCC) was led by Jordan Carter with 16 points and teammate Jonathan Ramirez contributed 10 points for the Warriors. Erik Cronrath, the team’s leading scorer was held to 9 points for the night. CU shot 43% for the game, 26% from beyond the 3-point arc.
“Our guys continue to share the ball and that’s one of the things that' bringing us success,” commented head coach John Van Dyke. “17 assists tonight is a sign we’re playing team ball and playing unselfishly. We have to expect tough games and challenges in the second half of the season and playing together is what will help answer those challenges and get us through the tough games.”
Northwest U. will play a re-scheduled conference game tomorrow with Northwest Christian. Game time is set for 5 p.m. in Kirkland. The game was re-scheduled from Saturday, 1/21, due to a power outage on the NU campus. Corban will do the same in Olympia as they play a re-scheduled game with the Evergreen State College.