Walla Walla Comes Up Short in Battle with Warriors
Morgan Doyle, Sports Information Director Assistant
College Place, Wash. – The Wolves and Warriors battled to the finish but in the end, Corban found a way to win. The Wolves built a five-point lead late in the first half and went into halftime with a 47-45 over the Warriors. The Wolves were within two or in the lead for the majority of the second half but fell down by double digits at the end in a loss.
After a three-pointer for Corban to take the lead, Walla Walla bounced back, with Jacob Vargas scoring the first basket for the Wolves. Cameron Silver tied the score at 12 all just under 15 minutes to play.
Roy Zavala, who got hot in the first half, nailed a three to tie it once again, and Wesley Burke hit a three a minute later to give the Wolves a 1 point lead, 19-18. Whenever the Warriors need a bucket, the could count on either Chris Martin or AJ Monterossi to come up with one. With just under seven minutes left in the half, Chris Martin made a three to put Corban up 37-31. The Wolves answered, outscored the Warriors by 12 points over the final stretch of the half. A three from Burke put Walla Walla up four points but as time was winding down Beau Robbenbach grabbed a Corban miss and put it back up and in to cut the lead to two points going into the half.
Despite several lead changes in the second half, the Warriors remained ahead for the majority of the time. Monterossi opened the half with a jumper to tie the score, and the Warriors built a four-point lead after a layup from Joel Johnson with 18:29 left in the second.
Walla Walla wouldn't quit, but they suffered a major setback in shooting compared the first half. Walla Walla shots nearly 59% from the field in the first half but managed only 39% in the second. The Warriors, on the other hand, got hot, shooting 63% in the second. Johnson, Monterossi and Martin combined to score 36 points in the second. Despite their shooting struggles, Walla Walla was down just three points with 8:26 to go after a fast-break layup from Walla Walla's Jordan Underwood. Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Wolves would get. By the 4:50 mark, the Warriors had built a 10 point lead.
Walla Walla was unable to find a way to get back within striking distance, and when it was all done, the Warriors won 97-81. Welsey Burke led the Wolves in scoring with 20 points, Cameron Silver pulled in 9 rebounds, and Alec Calloway had a team-high 5 assists. Corban's Chris Martin led all players in scoring with 27 points, including seven three-pointers.
Walla Walla will play Corban again tomorrow at 3:00 p.m.