SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University men’s basketball team and the Lewis-Clark State College Warriors both came out victorious on Saturday evening on the second night of the Corban Classic, as Corban topped New Hope Christian College, 99-68, while Lewis-Clark State defeated Simpson University, 82-65. With the event sponsored by the National Fibromyalgia Research Association, Lewis-Clark State finished the Classic as the only undefeated team with a pair of victories.
In the fourth and final game of the Classic in Saturday’s nightcap, Corban held the advantage on the evening in nearly every statistical category, with the Warriors bench play really standing out, as it owned a 48-16 scoring advantage over New Hope’s bench. In addition, Corban dominated the glass and the paint, registering a 50-26 scoring advantage in the paint, while owning a 52-24 rebounding edge.
Sophomore guard Toby Roth (Silverton, Ore.) and freshman guard AJ Monterossi (Beaverton, Ore.) both began the game well for the Warriors, converting on their opening looks to help stretch Corban’s lead to 12-7 after just four minutes. New Hope kept the contest close, but junior forward Cyrus Ward (Gig Harbor, Wash.) came off the bench and provided a spark, helping the Warriors gain that dominance in the paint while converting on some key opportunities inside at the rim. Still though, with 8:55 remaining in the half, the Deacons were down by just three points, 25-22.
The Navy and Gold then closed the half strong, however, stretching its lead to 17 at the intermission via a 22-8 run that was aided by freshman forward Colby Mueller (Klamath Falls, Ore.). Mueller came off the bench in his first action of the 2014-15 campaign and immediately provided a spark, grabbing a pair of rebounds while converting on a layup opportunity to keep Corban on top.
During the first stanza, Corban shot 59.4% from the field while holding New Hope to just a 33.3% effort. In addition, Corban went 7-of-7 from the line, helping the halftime score to be in the Warriors’ favor, 47-30.
To begin the second half, senior guard Jordan Carter (Salem, Ore.) set the tone with a layup on a fast-break off an assist from Roth. Roth then followed that up with a fast-break layup of his own, extending the advantage to 21 points. Junior forward Jeremiah Harris (Portland, Ore.) got in on the scoring not long after, converting on a nifty layup to make it 53-32 Corban with 16:40 left in regulation.
The Warriors would continue to build on their lead from there, rotating a number of players into the lineup. Freshman guard Kade Crossland (Buhl, Idaho) connected on a shot from beyond the arc, as did sophomore guard Caleb Herzberg (Beaverton, Ore.), extending the Corban advantage. Herzberg would hit again from deep, and sophomore guard Taylor Fox (Astoria, Ore.) also sank a shot from downtown, keeping the Navy and Gold comfortably in front.
Corban would build to a lead as big as 35 points, ultimately winning by 31 points over the Deacons.
Ward led the way for Corban with a double-double effort with 18 points and 13 boards, while Carter also notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Carter almost tallied a triple-double, as he racked up six assists as well. Monterossi finished the night with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Roth tallied 13 points. Harris and Crossland both also finished in double figures with 10 and 11 points, respectively.
For New Hope, Carlos McLeod racked up a game-high 23 points, while Isiah Large notched 19 points on the night.
“Tonight’s game was a very good team effort,” stated head coach Steve Masten. “We had 10 players score in a fast-paced game. We shot an impressive 59.2% from the floor and even more impressively had 25 assists on 42 field goals. We also shot 100.0% from the free-throw line.”
Corban (4-2) returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts cross-town rival Willamette University at 7:30 p.m. in the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center. If you can’t make it to the game, be sure to watch the contest via the live video stream while also following the live stats.
In the third game of the Corban Classic and opening game of Saturday evening, Lewis-Clark State College (LCSC) held off a late rally from Simpson University and notched its third-straight victory, 82-65. The Warriors continued their success from beyond the arc, as they connected on 64.7% (11-for-17) of their three-pointers in the triumph.
LCSC (8-1) opened the contest on a 9-0 run after draining three jumpers from downtown. Two of those three-pointers came from senior guard Brady Bagby, as he finished the Corban Classic with a blistering 11-for-16 effort from three-point range in the span of two games. Simpson (4-7) eventually woke up, responding with a 14-6 run to cut the LCSC lead to one (15-14) with 11:36 remaining after a three-pointer by junior forward Sam Filer.
With 39 seconds remaining in the first frame, LCSC sophomore forward Jacob Wiley found sophomore forward Erick Diouf for the layup to grant the Warriors their largest lead of the half, 44-33. After Simpson knocked down a pair of free throws, LCSC went into the locker room with a 44-35 advantage.
The Warriors shot 62.5% (15-for-24) in the first half, including a 6-for-10 effort from beyond the arc. The hot shooting was contagious, as Simpson tossed in a 50.0% clip (13-for-26) in the first frame.
In the second half, LCSC showed no signs of slowing down, as the Warriors pushed to their largest lead of the contest, 69-45, after a three-pointer by senior guard Jon Humphrie with 11:28 left to play. In the next six minutes, the Redhawks began to chip away one possession at a time. Simpson senior guard Dalton Thacker drained a three to cut the deficit to 13 (69-56), and a few possessions later, senior forward Ian Corella connected on a pair of free throws to bring the Redhawks to within nine (70-61) at the 5:22 mark.
However, the Warriors fired back with a quick 6-0 burst to kill any Simpson momentum. With LCSC ahead 78-62 with 1:17 left in regulation, Bagby nailed a step-back three-pointer, was fouled in the process, and converted the four-point play to put his finishing touch on an 82-65 victory.
Four players notched double figures for LCSC, as Bagby led the way with a team-high 16 points on a 5-for-8 effort from downtown. Providing a solid effort off the bench, Wiley scored 14 points to go along with five rebounds and three blocks. Lewis and Diouf added 13 points apiece, while junior guard Nick Emerson chipped in 10 points for the Warriors.
The Redhawks were led by Corella, as he recorded a game-high 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field. Two other players reached double figures for Simpson, as senior guard Shaquille Jones and senior guard Dalton Thacker added 13 points apiece.
As a team, the Warriors shot 54.9% (28-for-51) from the field, while the Redhawks managed a 42.3% (22-for-52) clip in the contest. LCSC edged Simpson on the glass, 33-28, and the Warriors also blocked eight shots in the winning effort.