BOX SCORE

SALEM, Ore. – Despite building a seven-point lead at half time, Corban's men's basketball team could not overcome a hot shooting second half by Southern Oregon as the visiting Raiders defeated the Warriors, 77-72, Friday night inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.

With the loss, Corban falls to 6-17 overall and 1-11 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Southern Oregon improves to 11-10 overall and 3-9 in league action.

Senior Ben Potloff (Keizer, Ore.) led all players in scoring with 21 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field that included an 8-for-9 showing at the free throw line. Potloff was aided scoring-wise by sophomore Erik Cronrath (Battle Ground, Wash.), who tallied 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field. On the boards, junior Ian Logan (Aloha, Ore.) pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds to go along with Cronrath and freshman Jacob Kopra (Gresham, Ore.) who grabbed five rebounds each.

The host Warriors would fall behind by five points (8-3) to begin the game before using a 12-4 run over a span of five-plus minutes en route to grabbing a three-point lead (15-12) thanks to a three-pointer by sophomore Jake Mauermann (Clackamas, Ore.) with 11 minutes left. The two teams would trade baskets over the next four minutes en route to the score being tied at 19-all before Corban used a 9-0 run that resulted in a nine-point lead (28-19) thanks to a Cronrath jumper with 3:39 to go. Southern Oregon would pull within two points (28-26) with 80 seconds left before Corban settled for a seven-point half time lead (35-28) following another Mauermann buzzer-beating three-pointer.

In the second half, Corban quickly built a 13-point lead (45-32) following a Logan jumper with 17:57 left in the game. Southern Oregon would waste no time in getting back in the game, as the visiting Raiders used a 15-2 run over a span of four-plus minutes en route to tying the game (47-47) following a David Grant three-pointer with 13:53 on the clock. Corban would hold a two-point lead (53-51) after a pair of Potloff free throws before Southern Oregon took the lead for good at 55-53 thanks to a Ryan Staker lay-in with just under 10 minutes remaining. The visiting Raiders would extend their lead to as much as 11 points (68-57) with just over five minutes left thanks to a pair of Drew Herrera free throws. Corban would not go away quietly, as the host Warriors clawed their way back thanks to a 15-5 run to pull within one point (73-72) with 31 seconds remaining following a Potloff lay-in. Two Grant free throws would give Southern Oregon a three-point lead (75-72) with 13 seconds left in the contest. Corban's final shot to tie the game via a three-point attempt by Potloff with seven seconds left feel into the hands of the Raiders, as SOU's Grant closed out the game with a fast-break lay-in for the final score of 77-72.

Southern Oregon was led by Grant, who talled 16 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field to go along with a game-high 15 rebounds. Another pair of Raiders – Humphrey Jackson and Staker – added 14 and 10 points respectively, while Staker also added six rebounds off the Raiders' bench.

As a team, Corban shot 22-for-50 (44.0%) from the field to go along with a 7-for-14 (50.0%) performance from beyond the three-point line and a 21-for-33 (63.6%) showing from the free throw line. On the other hand, Southern Oregon was 29-for-61 (47.5%) from the field that included a 17-for-30 (56.7%) showing in the second half. The Raiders were also 5-for-16 (31.3%) from long distance and 14-for-24 (58.3%) at the charity stripe.

Corban will step back onto the hardwood tomorrow night – Saturday, January 30th – against the NAIA's No. 3-ranked Hustlin' Owls of Oregon Tech beginning at approximately 7:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center in Salem.