GLENDALE, Ariz. – The first win of the Wayne Mendezona era for Corban University Men's Basketball was one that will live in infamy for years to come, as the Warriors fought tooth and nail to earn a 67-55 neutral site victory over No. 9-ranked The Master's University after holding the Mustangs to under 35% from the field and just 2-for-22 from beyond the three-point arc. The victory marked both the first of the new season and first for Coach Mendo while simultaneously marking a second-straight season with a win over a top ten program for the Navy and Gold.
"An absolutely amazing and gutsy performance that our me displayed tonight," shared Mendo. The physicality was over the top and yet our guys absorbed the physicality and didn't get rattled, keeping a collective mindset to play together in such a way that allowed us to get a victory tonight against a solid Master's squad. I couldn't be prouder of how hard these men worked, and I believe that if they buy into the collective mindset, we're only going to get better as the season rolls on."
In an extremely low-scoring affair, the Warriors (1-1) were able to hand the No. 9-ranked Mustangs (3-3) their third loss of the season and second of the weekend thanks primarily to dominating the paint in scoring and in rebounding while restraining themselves from unnecessarily fouling. A 27-25 halftime score in favor of the Navy and Gold was briefly lost just three minutes into the second half, yet a scoring clinic from redshirt junior center Tj Zimmermann allowed Corban to build a double-digit lead and never look back in their statement victory.
With less than a minute remaining, freshman guard Landon Knox saved Corban from one more crucial win they needed to secure before the final buzzer sounded: the team's first three-pointer of the entire contest. Their title of "3-Point University" was nearly lost in just their second game of the 2025-26 regular season, as nearly all of the Warriors' points thus far had come within the paint. With 53 seconds on the clock, Knox drained a corner three-ball to extend the NAIA's longest streak of consecutive games with a three-point basket to a 1,239th contest.
A 46-32 margin of victory in rebounding for the Navy and Gold told nearly the complete story of today's upset win in Glendale, with the Mustangs also struggling mightily offensive from the three-point arc (9.1%, free throw line (53.6%), and the field as a whole (34.5%). The only advantage The Master's held in today's contest was in bench scoring, as their reserves netted six more points than Corban's yet lost out on nearly every other head-to-head statistical category.
Zimmermann played nearly the entire second half and registered a double-double in just the 19 minutes played during the second period alone, ending his day with 21 points and 18 rebounds while dishing out a pair of assists. Redshirt senior guard Nikola Milosevic hopped off the bench to add 12 points and four boards while leading all players in assists with three. Junior guard Joe Gould pitched in 11 points along the way with redshirt senior guard Anjay Cortez adding seven points and eight rebounds.
Mustang guard Jazen Guillory led his team with 16 points while coming off the bench, with guard Nate Boakye representing the only TMU starter in double-figure scoring this evening. Guard Quincy Phillips chipped in nine points and had five boards but fouled out late in the second quarter and was responsible for nearly half of his team's turnovers on the day.
The Mustangs will have a chance to avenge their loss today to the Warriors next Friday, as the two teams will meet once again on The Master's campus in Santa Clarita, California. Tipoff is scheduled for 7pm on the 14th at The MacArthur Center.
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