No. 14 Concordia never trails in Corban blowout
PORTLAND, Ore. – A strong effort on both sides of the ball led the No. 14-ranked Concordia University men's basketball team to a double-digit first-half lead over visiting Corban University, allowing the Cavaliers to walk away with a comfortable 66-47 win on Saturday night.
Concordia (14-3, 5-2 CCC) dominated most statistical categories, out-shooting and out-rebounding the Warriors. The Cavs jumped out to a 6-0 start and never trailed, though the lead was just one after a Jordan Carter 3-pointer that made the score 14-13 with 12 minutes left in the opening half.
From there, though, Concordia took control, ripping off a 17-0 run to stretch the lead to 37-16 at the half. Corban (9-7, 2-5 CCC) missed 11 straight shots during that time, struggling to find any openings against an increasingly aggressive Cavaliers' defense. That effort turned into easy offense for the hosts, who hit 53 percent from the field in the period.
Corban was unable to find any relief after the break, scoring just 10 points in the opening 11 minutes of the second half as Concordia put the game away. Forcing the issue offensively, the Cavs built a 28-point lead with just over six minutes to play, all the while hounding the Warriors into rushed looks late in the shot clock.
With the outcome no longer in doubt, the later stages of the contest became a 3-point shooting exhibition. Seven of the teams' combined 11 3-pointers in the game came during the final six minutes, including four straight from Corban's Taylor Fox.
Concordia was led by
Thomas Pierce (Gary, Ind./Roosevelt H.S.), who ended the game with 14 points. Also scoring in double figures for the Cavs were
Anthony Holton (Portland, Ore./Sunset H.S.) (12 points) and
Tyler Velasquez (Colorado Springs, Colo./Doherty H.S.) (11). Justin Searle and
Esvan Middleton (Culver City, Calif./Culver City H.S.) each recorded seven rebounds.
The Warriors had two players reach double figures scoring, as Fox finished with 12 points on those four makes from distance and A.J. Monterossi had 11. Corban's leading scorer Cyrus Ward had 11 rebounds but just two points on 1-for-9 shooting.
For the game, Concordia shot 48 percent to Corban's 33. The Cavaliers won the rebounding battle 37-30 and blocked six shots to the Warriors' none.
Corban next plays at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 16 at home against College of Idaho. Concordia faces Evergreen State at 7:30 on Jan. 16 in Olympia, Wash.