SALEM, Ore. – In a contest that the Corban University Men’s Basketball team (1-0, 0-0) controlled from start to finish, the Warriors made quick work of the NCAA DIII Willamette University Bearcats (0-0, 0-0), running away with the contest in the second half to conclude their season opener with an 88-43 victory.
“Great season opener for us tonight, we are excited for the year ahead of us,” Warriors’ Head Coach Taylor Kelly shared following the matchup with the Bearcats.
“I’m really proud of the effort our guys gave tonight, we did some really good stuff defensively by holding them to a low shooting percentage and forcing them into 35 turnovers on the night. It took us some time to settle in and get comfortable, but once we did offensively things started to click and we really shared the ball well to play with each other’s strengths,” Kelly elaborated.
“A great team win, looking forward to another crosstown rivalry matchup against Western Oregon later this weekend,” Kelly concluded.
The Warriors showed off their depth tonight in a simultaneous season and home opener for the 2022-23 season, as all but one student-athlete ended the evening with points on the board, with three of five starters scoring in double-digits.
Despite trailing for the first three minutes of the contest, Corban kicked into another gear at the 15:03 mark, going on an 18-5 run to take a commanding 24-11 lead with under 10 minutes to play in the half.
The Bearcats would go on to trim the lead to six points in the span of the next five minutes, but multiple steals and transition buckets thanks to Warriors’ junior guard Dirk Helaire II gave Corban the momentum once again, allowing them to stretch their lead back to double-digits and lead 38-25 at the halftime break.
With Corban senior forward Darius Henderson sitting for a majority of the first half due to foul trouble, Kelly knew he had to get his big man the ball early and often to open the second half offense, as Henderson scored the first six points out of the break to give the Corban fans enjoying their Halloween holiday at the court something more to cheer about.
Even the candy that Cadmar the Warrior threw out wasn’t as sweet as Corban junior guard Taylor Anderson’s playmaking ability in the second half, with four of his game-high six assists coming in the final twenty minutes of play. The Anderson-Henderson connection proved fruitful down the stretch, as the duo combined for multiple dump passes into the paint for easy looks at the basket, something that kept the Bearcats looking for answers for all night long.
The Warriors’ defense was on showcase today as well, as Corban held Willamette scoreless for nearly eight minutes as the game drew to an end, with their final points coming at the 3:22 minute mark, giving the Warriors a 32-2 run to close out the final quarter of the contest.
That 32-2 run proved to be a defensive statement that the Warriors held to all game long, as Corban smacked the Bearcats with a 35-10 turnover margin, with nine different Warriors registering steals and Helaire accounting for a fourth of them (5) in a whopping 20 team steal night.
Henderson led all players with 12 points on the evening, adding a pair of rebounds and a block in the post. Senior guard Masie Mohammadi and junior guard Andrew Stafford each tallied 11 points a pop, with each of them shooting either 50% or above from the three-point line or in the field, respectively.
Senior guard Mateo Escheik came in off the bench to be the only other Warrior to tally double-digits on the board, scoring a 10-piece with only eight minutes played. Anderson’s six assists proved to be the game-high by the final horn, who added eight points offensively as well.
In exhibition play for Willamette, forward Jack Boydell was the only Bearcat to log double-digit points, scoring 11 on the night and adding seven rebounds. Guard Ryder Hsiung added six points in a starting role, nabbing three boards and swatting three blocks to lead all players in denials.
Corban Men’s Basketball returns to the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center this Saturday, November 5th, as they are set to host NCAA DII Western Oregon University in an exhibition match for both squads at 3pm PDT.
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