WP Men Ease Past Corban
PORTLAND, Ore. – Warner Pacific used an efficient scoring attack to turn back Corban University tonight in Cascade Conference play.
The host Knights scored at a 51 percent clip, including an 11-24 effort from the three point line.
Xavier Cannefax and
Collin Malcolm were especially locked in for WPC, as the duo carved up the Warrior defense for 28 and 24 points respectively. Malcolm added 12 rebounds for his 6th double-double of the season.
The first half was close throughout, but WP outscored Corban 12-2 over the final four minutes to take a 45-36 lead into the halftime break.
Warner Pacific stretched out the lead to 14 points in the early action of the second half, but the Warriors fought back to within two points thanks to a 14-2 surge. Denis Kirichenko splashed a pair of treys during the run for Corban.
Three pointers from Cannefax and Malcolm righted the ship however, then a 9-0 burst from the Knights capped by a trey from
Josh Thomas pushed the advantage back out to 15 points.
A heroic second half effort from Corban's Chris Martin kept the game competitive down the stretch. The senior scored 17 after halftime and 12 straight at one point. His three pointer with 4:11 to play made the score 81-73, but Corban would not score again. WP closed the game on a 10-0 run to secure the win.
After Cannefax and Malcolm,
De'Jon Bowman scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds for Warner Pacific.
Morris Bethea and
Brandon Bell added eight points each, while
Josh Thomas came off the bench for five points and six assists.
Chris Martin totaled 26 points for Corban, while Joel Johnson contributed 12 points and four blocks.