Northwest's Micharl Russo (left) helped lead the nationally-ranked Eagles to a come-from-behind victory over Corban thanks to a game-high 20 points Friday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center in Salem.
Northwest Uses Game-Ending Run to Defeat Corban in Come-From-Behind Fashion
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – The NAIA's No. 15-ranked Northwest University used a game-ending 20-4 run and held Corban University to just two field goals in the final six-plus minutes en route to earning a come-from-behind 56-45 win Friday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
Corban (6-12 overall, 2-8 CCC) held a five-point lead (41-36) with 6:31 remaining before Northwest (18-4 overall, 8-2 CCC) stepped up its defensive pressure and forced the host Warriors into a 2-for-11 performance to end the game. Meanwhile, the visiting Eagles would begin the game-ending run with a three-pointer by Brett Skogstad that would jump start a combined 6-for-7 performance by Northwest over the next five minutes that resulted in a six-point lead (49-43) for the Eagles with 1:38 on the clock. NU would then seal the victory with a 5-for-6 performance at the free throw line in the final minute en route to earning the 11-point win (56-45).
Northwest was led offensively by Michael Russo with a game-high 20 points, while Michael Greene added 14 points and a game-high 17 rebounds for the Eagles. Skogstad would add nine points off the bench, while Greene handed out a team-high four assists to go along with a game-high two blocked shots.
Corban's Marcus Butler and Andrew Evans led the Warriors in scoring with 13 points each, while Dustin Moore added nine points, Jacob Kopra chipped in with six points, and Kent Foster provided four points off Corban's bench. On the boards, Kopra and Josiah Sebens pulled down a team-high eight rebounds each to go along with a game-high five assists by Evans.
After Northwest jumped out to an 11-6 lead in the opening five minutes, Corban used an 8-0 run en route taking a 14-11 lead after holding the visiting Eagles without a field goal over a span of six minutes and 27 seconds. Northwest would break the scoreless drought with back-to-back field goals resulting in a 15-14 lead before Corban scored five unanswered points to take a 19-14 lead on a lay-in by Butler with 6:52 on the clock. The visiting Eagles would battle back to take a one-point lead (21-20) on a free throw by Russo before Corban closed the half on a 6-1 run en route to taking a four-point lead (26-22) into the break.
Corban would come out of the locker room and hit 4-of-5 shots en route to building a nine-point lead (35-26) on a three-pointer by Moore with 16:33 remaining. The host Warriors would continue to hold the lead over the next 10 minutes resulting with a five-point advantage (41-36) at the 6:31 mark before Northwest began its game-ending run.
As a team, Corban combined to shoot 18-for-58 (31.0%) from the field that included a 5-for-24 (20.8%) performance from beyond the three-point line and a 4-for-8 (50.0%) showing at the free throw line. On the other hand, Northwest was a combined 19-for-55 (34.5%) from the field, 5-of-23 (21.7%) from long distance, and 13-of-17 (76.5%) at the charity stripe.
Both teams will return to the hardwood tomorrow – Saturday, January 19th – with Northwest continuing its weekend road trip against Northwest Christian in Eugene and Corban hosting The Evergreen State College in Salem. Tip-off for each game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.