PORTLAND, Ore.—In a match-up of two teams in the middle of the CCC, Corban topped Concordia 78-69 on Friday.

Corban (16-11, 8-7 CCC) took control of the game early behind a dominant first half performance defensively. Corban held Concordia (14-12, 6-9 CCC) to just 29.6 percent shooting in the first half, while the Warriors shot 51.9 percent from the floor.

Corban also drew a major advantage in the game from their three-point shooting, going 11-for-21 from beyond the arc on Friday.

Everything went Corban’s way during one stretch in the first half in which the Warriors held Concordia without a field goal for over six and a half minutes. The Warriors outscored the Cavs 16-1 during that stretch, getting nine of those points on three-pointers from Josiah Sebens, Dustin Moore and Jake Mauermann.

Concordia’s Gage Aker finally ended the run with a jumper with 1:14 left, but by then the Warriors had opened up an 18-point lead at 38-20.

Concordia improved dramatically in the second half, though, shooting 52.9 percent from the field in the period. However, the Warriors answered the Cavalier challenge, upping their own shooting percentage to 62.5 percent. Consequently, the Warriors maintained at least a 15-point advantage over the Cavs for much of the second half.

The Cavs would find enough offense for a run late in the game, as they held the Warriors to just three field goals over the final five and a half minutes. Meanwhile, Concordia scored nine straight points in the middle of that stretch to cut the lead to nine at 76-67 with a minute remaining. The Cavs got two big turnovers during the 9-0 run with senior Drew Preuninger providing much of the pressure on the Corban guards.

Still, the Cavs could not make up the final nine points in the final minute as Corban made enough plays down the stretch to hold on to the win.

Overall, Corban outshot the Cavs .569-to-.426 from the field and outrebounded the Cavs 31-30. Corban also made Concordia work for their shots, as the Cavs assisted on just six of their 26 field goals. On the plus side for the Cavs, they forced the Warriors into 13 turnovers and had seven steals in the game.

Individually, Concordia’s Jourdan Sweeney led all scorers with 26 points off 12-of-15 shooting from the field. Besides Sweeney, Preuninger finished with 17 points for the Cavs, while Kevan West added 13 of his own. Preuninger also made three three-pointers in the game, putting him just three away from tying the career record at Concordia.

For Corban, Erik Cronrath led the way for the Warriors with 17 points, while Mauermann scored 15 and Jacob Kopra scored 14. Mauermann scored all 15 of his points on five three-pointers.

Finally, three players tied for the game-high in rebounds with Jordan Carter and Kopra grabbing seven each for Corban and West grabbing seven for Concordia.

Next up, the Warriors head across town to face Warner Pacific tomorrow, Feb. 11, while the Cavs will host Northwest Christian. Both games will begin at 7:30 p.m.