Senior Erik Cronrath has combined to shoot 20-for-29 (69.0%) from the field over the past three games, including a 7-for-11 showing Tuesday against Linfield.
Comeback in Final Minutes Leads Corban to 'W'
BOX SCORE
McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Trailing by five points with just over three minutes remaining, Corban's men's basketball team scored the game's final eight points en route to securing a 71-68 win over NCAA Division III member Linfield Tuesday inside Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
With tonight's come-from-behind win, Corban extends its winning streak to three games and improves to 3-2 on the season. Meanwhile, Linfield drops its season opener falling to 0-1.
For the second straight game, senior Erik Cronrath led the Warriors in scoring with a team-high 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds. Sophomore Jordan Carter was the only other Warrior in double figures with 17 points on 6-for-14 shooting from the field, while senior James Green and junior Dustin Moore added nine and eight points, respectively.
Corban's five starters combined to tally 56 total points, as the quintet registered 78.9% of the team's scoring with senior Jake Mauermann leading the Warriors' bench with six points hitting two-out-of-four shots from three-point range.
In a tightly contested opening 10 minutes of the game, neither team held more than a five-point lead as the Warriors clung to a slim one-point advantage (13-12) with 10:11 remaining. Over the next 2:17, Corban used an 8-1 run en route to grabbing an eight-point lead (21-13) on a Mauermann three-point with just under eight minutes on the clock. Linfield would pull within three points (30-27) with 2:09 left before Corban used a 7-0 run to grab the lone double-digit lead of the opening half (37-27) after a jumper by senior Jonathan Ramirez with 55 ticks left. Corban would settle for a five-point half time lead (37-32) after Linfield's Andrew Batiuk nailed a jumper at the buzzer.
Over the opening five-plus minutes of the second half, Corban slowly built its lead back to eight points (47-39) after a pair of free throws by junior Jacob Kopra with 14:53 left. The next three minutes would belong to Linfield, as the Wildcats used a 9-0 run to grab a one-point lead (48-47) with 13:19 showing on the clock. Corban would then push its lead back up to six points (61-55) via a 14-7 run that concluded with a Carter free throw at the 7:13 mark. Not wanting to go quietly into the night, Linfield put together another run grabbing a five-point lead (68-63) via a 13-2 run that ended with a Zach Anderson jumper with 3:28 remaining. From that point on, Corban's defense stepped up the pressure and did not allow the host Wildcats to score another point. Meanwhile, the visiting Warriors used a game-closing 8-0 run en route to securing the three-point win (71-68) that included a missed three-pointer by Linfield in the final seconds.
Linfield was led in scoring by Anderson with a game-high 27 points on 9-for-17 shooting from the field that included a 6-for-8 showing from beyond the three-point line. Batiuk was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 10 points, while also grabbing a team-high nine rebounds.
As a team, Corban shot 25-for-50 (50.0%) from the field to go along with a 7-for-16 (43.8%) showing from beyond the three-point line and a 14-for-17 (82.4%) performance at the free throw line. On the other hand, Linfield was 23-for-51 (45.1%) from the field, 10-for-22 (45.5%) from long distance, and 12-for-13 (92.3%) at the charity stripe.
Corban will return to the court on Friday, November 18th, against California Pacific Conference member Simpson beginning at approximately 7:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center in Salem.