Corban was unable to down the No. 1-ranked College of Idaho squad on Saturday night in a tough defeat. (Photo Credit: Doug Pfeiler)
SALEM, Ore. – The No. 1-ranked College of Idaho men's basketball team showed on Saturday evening why they are the top-ranked team in the NAIA, nailing 13 three-pointers while playing stifling defense against Corban University, downing the Warriors, 75-53.
"C of I is a tough, physical, and confident basketball team, and they really showed why they are ranked at the top in the second half of the game tonight," said Corban head coach Mitch Freeman. "We did not shoot it very well, but credit them for forcing tough shots. We will need to put this behind us quickly as we have a tough Eastern team coming in tomorrow night."
A 19-4 run to begin the contest on Saturday night gave the Yotes exactly the kind of start they wanted, nailing a quartet of three-pointers while taking control early on. Corban shot just 38.46% from the floor during the first 20 minutes, but good defense down the stretch got Corban back in it and trailed by just 11 points at the break, 41-30.
In the second stanza, Corban came out firing, and it was AJ Hodges who drained a shot from downtown right away to set the tone, and within five minutes, the Warriors had it down to a four-point C of I lead.
The Yotes (14-1, 3-0 CCC) then kicked into full gear, sinking back-to-back long-range efforts en route to taking back control of the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) bout between the two long-time conference foes, ultimately winning by 22 points.
For C of I in the win, it was a balanced offensive attack that led to the triumph, as Keun Palu Thompson totaled a team-leading 17 points, while Justin Saunders poured in 15 points on a 4-for-6 effort from deep and Nate Bruneel tallied 13 points.
In the defeat, Beau Roggenbach led the way with 12 points and hauled in seven boards, proving to be the only Corban player in double-figures. Hodges finished with nine points, while both Jaxon Hughes and Joel Johnson recorded seven points apiece.
The Warriors shot just 35.8% overall and only 25.0% from beyond the arc, while College of Idaho went 42.4% from the field and 40.6% from downtown. In addition, the Navy and Gold went just 10-for-20 on the night from the charity stripe.
Corban (9-3, 0-2 CCC) returns to the hardwood tomorrow afternoon when it hosts Eastern Oregon University. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m.