COSTA MESA, Calif. – A late run with three minutes remaining combined with multiple defensive stops ultimately provided the home team on the neutral site floor with the victory, as the Corban University Men’s Basketball team (4-1, 1-0) dropped their first game of the season to the (RV) University of Antelope Valley Pioneers (6-0, 0-0) in a defensive showdown, 57-54.
Corban and Antelope Valley went shot-for-shot for a majority of the opening half, with neither team able to stretch their lead to more than five points for the entire first 20 minutes of play. The Warriors held one of their largest leads of the game with three minutes remaining until the halftime break, thanks to a jumper from junior guard Dirk Helaire II to earn a five-point advantage.
However, the Pioneers ended the half on a 6-2 run to trail by a single point, as both teams head for the locker rooms to talk over their gameplans. Warriors’ senior forward Darius Henderson had taken control once again in the OCC Gym, leading the team with six points, four rebounds, and a pair of assists.
On the other half of the court, UAV guard Michael Hayes was the go-to playmaker for the Pioneers, as he found himself in double-digits in just 12 minutes played with 10 points and six boards. He was the only Antelope Valley player with more than three points scored.
The Warriors kicked off the second half with their largest lead of the game, reaching a seven-point margin of victory at the 17-minute mark before Hayes hit a driving layup and provided the Pioneers with an opportunity to call a timeout before the Corban offense was able to find their stride.
Corban found the seven-point advantage once again with 13 minutes remaining, yet this would be their final multiple possession lead of the contest, as UAV stormed back to tie the contest five minutes later at 47-all, forcing a timeout by the Warriors.
Another layup from Hayes with four minutes remaining forced Coach Kelly into calling yet another full timeout, as Corban trailed by three after leading for a majority of the contest. Senior guard Mateo Escheik hit a crucial three-pointer under three minutes to tie the contest, but a free throw from Hayes and a breakaway dunk from Pioneers’ guard Elias Ezenekwe gave Antelope Valley that three-point advantage once again.
With just 1:16 left on the scoreboard, the Warriors needed to rekindle their offense and prevent the Pioneers from finding the basket in order to earn a victory but were unable to execute the former of those objectives. While they were able to keep UAV off the scoreboard, Antelope Valley did the exact same to them, as nobody was able to score over the final minute of play to end this contest 57-54 in favor of the undefeated Pioneers.
The bread and butter thus far this season for the Warriors had been the post players and driving guards finding opportunities in the paint, which was one of the unexpected problems they struggled with this afternoon. UAV outscored Corban 32-10 in the pain, including a 22-4 margin in the second half alone.
Additionally, the Navy and Gold have capitalized on their second chance opportunities via backcourt steals and offensive rebounds yet failed to score a single second chance point today, compared to 12 for the Pioneers.
Henderson nearly recorded another double-double this afternoon, scoring 18 points and adding nine rebounds in another busy day for the 6’9 senior. Escheik followed in part with 13 points and four rebounds, as he was one of four Warriors with exactly four rebounds on the day.
Pioneers’ Hayes completed the only double-double of the day with an impressive 29 points and 12 rebounds, hitting 11 of his 16 field goal attempts to cause issues for the Warriors all game long. His dominance was the lone issue for Corban, as the next highest scorer for UAV was guard LeVontay Ott who score nine points and added five boards.
The Warriors return to the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center next weekend for their first home conference doubleheaders of the season, when they host the Warner Pacific University Knights (3-2, 1-0) and Multnomah University Lions (3-2, 0-1) on Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and 5pm PST, respectively.
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