Kirwan's Buzzer Beater Gives Cavs 69-68 Win over Corban

1/12/2013 11:10:01 PM

BOX SCORE - Concordia vs. Corban

PORTLAND, Ore.—Down for most of the game, the Concordia men’s basketball team completed a dramatic comeback when sophomore forward Kory Kirwan sank a rebound basket with 1.3 seconds left that would give the Cavaliers a 69-68 win over Corban on Saturday.
 
The Cavaliers originally got the ball with 20.1 seconds left on the play, but the Warriors didn’t give them anything easy. Guard Willy Ligon eventually got the ball on the right wing and fired up a three-pointer with less than five seconds left. The ball missed off the left side of the rim, though, and fell down to a crowd in the paint as the seconds ticked away.
 
Kirwan, however, fought through the Warriors’ box-out and snatched the rebound away from a Corban player. Once with the ball, Kirwan quickly put up the lay-up that would ultimately prove to be the game-winner.
 
The Cavaliers still had to defend the Warriors’ final possession, though, as Corban attempted a Grant Hill/Christian Laettner-type play from the baseline. The Cavaliers’ defense didn’t allow anything easy, however, and the Warriors only managed a half-court heave at the buzzer that didn’t come close to the rim.
 
 “We’ve been on the other end of some tough losses at the buzzer this season so it was nice to finally be on the winning side of one,” said CU head coach Brad Barbarick. “I’m just really excited about how we played down the stretch.”
 
The game completed the first half of the CCC schedule for both teams with the Cavs improving to 4-5 in the CCC and 9-9 overall with the win, while the Warriors fell to 2-7 in the CCC and 4-15 overall.
 
The end of the game on Saturday put a pleasant cap on what had been a 40-minute struggle for the Cavaliers. Concordia led 2-0 early in the game, but then fell down by as many as 14 points and didn’t lead again until Willy Ligon hit a jumper with 2:22 left in the second half that gave the Cavs a 62-60 lead.
 
The Warriors didn’t fade once the Cavs took the lead again, though, as Jacob Kopra came down on his team’s next possession and hit a clutch three-pointer that put the Warriors back on top, 63-62. Ligon came back to hit a three on the Cavs’ next possession, but the Warriors’ Dustin Moore hit another three to put the Warriors back up, 66-65 with 1:06 to go. Kopra missed a three-point attempt before Moore’s shot, but the Warriors’ Marcus Butler came up with a huge offensive rebound off Kopra’s miss to give the Warriors another chance at the lead.
 
Down by one point again, the Cavs needed to score on their next possession and called a play for all-conference forward Adam Herman. Answering the call, Herman drove into the paint amidst a sea of Warriors trying to guard him and drew a foul to get to the line. Unfazed by the moment, Herman hit both free throws, giving the Cavs a 67-66 lead with 47 seconds to go.
 
The Cavaliers then did not let the Warriors get anything easy on the ensuing possession as the shot clock ticked down into the single digits. The Warriors eventually found Butler open on the left baseline, however, and Butler got fouled attempting a short jumper from eight feet out. Like Herman, Butler seemed unbothered by the pressure of the moment and knocked down both free throws to give the Warriors the lead at 68-67 with 20.1 seconds left.
 
Butler’s free throws would have been the game-winning points if not for Kirwan’s heroics a few seconds later.
 
Overall, the Cavs came out just ahead of the Warriors in shooting (.421-to-.407) and rebounding (35-32) in the game.
 
“We didn’t shoot it great tonight, but we grinded it and I’m really happy with that,” said Barbarick. “We didn’t hang our heads when we weren’t shooting well and we really stepped up on the defensive end.”
 
Individually, Herman led the Cavs with a monster game for the second straight night as he added three assists, two blocks and a steal to his game-high 33 points and 12 rebounds. Herman also led the Cavs’ strong free throw shooting in the game as he made 15-of-16 shots from the line on Saturday.
 
Besides Herman, Ligon scored nine points for the Cavs, while Justyn Searle, Robbie Jackson, Anthony Holton and Kirwan all added six points apiece. Ryan Miller rounded out the Cavaliers’ scoring with three-points, which came at a critical time in the game as Miller hit a three-pointer with 5:54 remaining to cut the Warriors’ lead to three at 58-55.
 
On the flip side, Josiah Sebens led the Warriors with 25 points and 10 rebounds and was a particular nuisance for the Cavs early in the game as he scored 14 of the Warriors’ first 24 points of the game. Besides Sebens, Jacob Kopra had 18 points and seven rebounds, while also contributing solid defense on Herman with four blocked shots. Finally, Andrew Evans also cracked double-digits for the Warriors with 11 points.
 
Next up, the Cavaliers step out of conference for a road game at Portland Bible at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 15. The Cavaliers will then return to CCC action with a home game against Warner Pacific at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19. The Warriors, meanwhile, return home for their next game as they host Northwest University at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 18.