Freshman Jordan Carter drove through a host of NCU defenders en route to knocking down the game-winning shot with 3.2 seconds remaining, as Corban defeated the visiting Beacons Friday to take one step closer to the postseason.
Carter Helps Corban Get Closer to Playoff Berth
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – Some players are know to "have ice water running through their veins" meaning that they are cool under pressure and nothing rattles them.
That is one way to describe how freshman Jordan Carter (Salem, Ore.) has played over the past two games, as the first-year Warrior knocked down his second straight game-winning shot Friday in helping Corban's men's basketball team take one step closer to the playoffs with a 67-65 come-from-behind win over rival Northwest Christian inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
With the game tied at 65-all following a free throw by Northwest Christian's Cameron Marshall with 18.8 seconds remaining, Carter took the ball in his hands and sliced his way through NCU's defense before dropping in an eight-foot floater in the lane over a pair of out-stretched Beacon defenders with 3.2 seconds remaining to give Corban a much-needed two-point win (67-65).
Corban was led in scoring by junior Erik Cronrath (Battle Ground, Wash.) with a game-high 25 points on 11-for-16 shooting from the field to go along with a game-high tying five assists, while seniors Nash Keene (Aumsville, Ore.) and Ian Logan (Aloha, Ore.) added 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the final home game of their illustrious careers. Despite an off shooting night, Carter poured in nine points to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds and senior Bryan Martin (Salem, Ore.) added four points and eight rebounds in his final appearance in front of the home crowd.
The first half would begin with Corban taking command of the game, as the Warriors jumped out to a 17-7 lead over the opening seven minutes thanks to a Logan jumper at the 13:21 mark. Northwest Christian would find its rhythm over the next 12 minutes, as the Beacons used a 25-10 run en route to taking a five-point lead (32-27) after a Brian Hampton three-pointer with 1:45 on the clock. A Cronrath lay-in 22 seconds later would pull Corban within three points (32-29) before the 6-foot-8 forward knocked down a buzzer-beating baseline jumper that pulled the Warriors within a single point (32-31) at halftime.
Northwest Christian came out of the locker room in the second half and quickly jumped out to an eight-point lead (46-38) thanks to a 14-7 run in the first five minutes. Fortunately, Corban would not let the Beacons' run away with their seventh victory in the two teams last eight meetings as the host Warriors used a 12-4 run over a span of three-plus minutes to knot things at 50-50 following a Carter jumper at the 12:31 mark. Both teams would battle back and forth over the next eight minutes until Corban held a four-point lead (62-58) after a Martin base line jumper with 4:41 remaining. Northwest Christian would claw its way back into the game thanks to a 7-3 run that knotted things at 65-all following Marshall's aforementioned three-point play that set-up the game-winning heroics by Carter, who has been nicknamed "The Truth" by the Warrior FAN-atics for his play on the court as the students knew that he could play prior to the season but none of them knew that he was this good.
Marshall led all Northwest Christian scorers with 18 points, while Kellen Spicer and Quentin Guidry added 16 and 10 points respectively. On the boards, Jordan Myers pulled down a team-high six rebounds to go along with a game-high tying five assists.
As a team, Corban shot a combined 30-for-59 (50.8%) from the field to go along with a 3-for-14 (21.4%) showing from beyond the three-point line and a 4-for-8 (50.0%) performance at the free throw line. On the other hand, Northwest Christian was a combined 25-for-65 (38.5%) from the field, 10-for-22 (45.5%) from long distance, and 5-for-6 (83.3%) at the charity stripe.
With tonight's result, Corban improves to 17-13 overall and 7-11 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Northwest Christian concludes its season at 8-22 overall and 2-16 in league games. The Warriors will have to wait for tomorrow night's results to see if they qualify for the CCC Tournament, as Corban holds a slight ½ game lead over Southern Oregon for sixth place in the current league standings.
NOTE: Be sure to check GoWarriorsGo.com Saturday night for more details about the Warriors' post-season plans.