SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University men's basketball team will enter the final game of the 2019-20 regular season tied with Multnomah University for the eighth and final spot of the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament field, with the results of tomorrow's action determining whether or not the Navy and Gold will reach the conference's culminating event.
The Warriors kept their playoff hopes alive with a crucial 77-68 victory over Eastern Oregon University on Friday evening.
"We are playing our best basketball right now, and I am proud of the way we continue to stay together and compete," said head coach Mitch Freeman. "Tonight, we had multiple guys play exceptionally on the offensive end and as a team we held a high-scoring team to under 70 points. We are where we need to be to give ourselves a chance to play into next week!"
Four Warriors finished in double figures during the well-rounded offensive attack, contributing to the team's 47.5% shooting mark from the floor (34.6% 3PT).
The lead exchanged hands multiple times in the first half, but Corban managed to outscore the Mounties 15-8 in the final six minutes of the stanza, leaping to a 39-31 advantage as the two teams went to the locker room.
The Warriors never looked back, remaining in control for the entirety of the second half.
Jason Smarr and Tyler Wadleigh tied for the team lead with 14 points in the victory. Smarr went 5-of-10 from the field, sinking three of his five shots from beyond the arc.
Continuing to demonstrate his dynamic scoring ability, Wadleigh provided a valuable boost from the bench, reaching double digits for the sixth-straight game.
AJ Hodges racked up 13 points and five assists for the Navy and Gold, while also spearheading the defense with four takeaways. Another dangerous weapon in reserve, Denis Kirichenko went 3-of-5 from three in his 12-point performance.
Mountie standout Max McCullough led all performers with 23 points, 18 of which came in the second half.
With Corban's victory and Multnomah's 123-75 loss to Southern Oregon, the Warriors and Lions are now tied for eighth place in the CCC standings; the top-eight teams will earn the right to compete in the conference tournament. Multnomah will play No. 8-ranked Oregon Tech down in Klamath Falls tomorrow night.
Meanwhile, the Warriors will be hosting the NAIA's No. 1-ranked team, College of Idaho, for the Navy and Gold's senior day and regular-season finale on Saturday evening.
Should Corban and Multnomah remain deadlocked in the standings at the conclusion of play tomorrow, a tiebreaker system will be employed to determine which team will compete as the No. 8 seed.
Since the Warriors and Lions split the two-game regular-season series, the tiebreaker would be determined by comparing each team's records against CCC teams with a record of .500 or better.
Corban (13-16, 7-12 CCC) will host No. 1 College of Idaho tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center, with seniors set to be honored roughly 15 minutes prior to tip off.