BOX SCORE

SALEM, Ore. – Junior Paul Martin (Beaverton, Ore.) registered a double-double with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds, as Corban's men's basketball team picked up a much-needed win over Cascade in come-from-behind fashion, 63-61, Friday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.

Trailing by 10 points (61-51) with just over four minutes remaining, Corban used a game-closing 12-0 run that was highlight by a pair of game-winning free throws by sophomore Clay Martin (Beaverton, Ore.) with two seconds left along with a last-second steal by sophomore Bryan Martin (Salem, Ore.) en route to helping the Warriors pick up their first conference victory of the season.

"The team never stopped (playing) tonight," said seventh-year head coach Justin Sherwood.  "The keys to tonight's win was that we executed and finished when needed, as well as put together a team effort on the boards and defensively.  Those things combined made it possible to come back and pick up the win."

In the first half, Corban grabbed a four-point advantage (13-9) following a jumper by sophomore Ian Logan (Aloha, Ore.) with 13:40 remaining.  Cascade would battle back to grab a three-point lead (18-15) via a 9-2 run over a span of two minutes and 23 seconds following a Ben Pawlak jumper in the paint with 11:17 showing on the clock.  The host Warriors would claw their way back and grab a five-point advantage (23-18) via an 8-0 run that was highlighted by a jumper by senior Wade Douglas (Ontario, Ore.) with just under eight minutes left.  The visiting Thunderbirds then used a 7-0 run to grab a two-point lead (25-23) before both teams battled over the half's final five-plus minutes, as Corban got a buzzer-beating jumper in the paint from junior Ben Potloff (Keizer, Ore.) en route to securing a slim one-point lead (32-31) at intermission.

Cascade would open the second half on an 8-0 run that led to a 37-32 lead with 16:35 left, as the Thunderbirds would hold seven more five-point leads over the next eight-plus minutes before grabbing an eight-point lead (57-49) following a Jason McCall fastbreak lay-in with 5:25 left.  On the play, Corban's Douglas suffered a wrist injury while attempting to block McCall's shot therefore forcing Sherwood to go to a smaller line-up for the remainer of the game.  The lineup changed seemed to work for the Warriors, as Corban began to battle back despite Cascade earning a 10-point lead (61-51) with 4:02 on the clock.  In less than three minutes, the Warriors took a double-digit Thunderbird lead and completely erased it via six points by Logan and four points by Paul Martin.  With the score knotted at 61-all, Corban forced Cascade's Cornell Littlejohn to take a shot that was rebounded by Clay Martin with 20 ticks left.  Following a Warrior timeout, Clay Martin drove to the hoop and was fouled by a Thunderbird player with two ticks remaining to help set-up the end of the game heroics.

"We really needed this one," commented Paul Martin.  "We have battled all year and been right there with a lot of teams, but have not been able to pull (any of the games) out.  Tonight, we did whatever it took to pick up this win."

Paul Martin was aided scoring-wise by Logan's 18-point, nine-rebound effort, while Clay Martin turned in a pair of nine-point, 10-rebound to go along with Douglas' eight-point, 10-rebound peformance.  Clay Martin led all players with a game-high tying five assists, while Paul Martin missed his first career triple-double by six assists.

Cascade was led by Erving Adams' 16-point, 12-rebound performance, while Jared Mace and Pawlak added nine points each.  The Thunderbirds' Ryan Barker pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds, while Kao Saelee tied Clay Martin's game-high perfomance with five assists.

As a team, Corban shot 26-for-65 (40.0%) from the field to go along with a 2-for-18 (11.1%) showing from three-point land and a 9-for-16 (56.3%) performance from the free throw line.  On the other hand, Cascade was 26-for-71 (36.6%) from the field that included a 3-for-17 (17.6%) performance from long distance and a 6-for-12 (50.0%) showing from the free throw line.

With the win, Corban improves to 5-11 overall (1-6 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play) versus Cascade's 7-6 overall mark that includes a winless 0-5 mark in CCC action.  The Warriors return to the hardwood on Saturday, January 10th, against the NAIA's No. 10-ranked Knights of Warner Pacific beginning at approximately 7:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.