BOX SCORE

SALEM, Ore. – Senior Nash Keene (Aumsville, Ore.) knocked down a game-high six three-pointers en route to scoring a team-high 19 points off the bench, but it was not enough as Corban's men's basketball team fell just short against the NAIA's No. 13-ranked Owls of Oregon Tech, 89-88 in overtime, Thursday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.

Four Warriors scored in double figures, as junior Erik Cronrath (Battle Ground, Wash.), freshman Jordan Carter (Salem, Ore.), and senior Ian Logan (Aloha, Ore.) aided Keene offensively with 18, 17, and 14 points respectively. All available Corban players scored at least two points with the Warriors' bench providing 31 points in the game. Junior Jonathan Ramirez (New Britain, Conn.) grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, while a quartet of Warriors – Logan, Ramirez, junior Jake Mauermann (Clackamas, Ore.), and Carter – handed out a game-high tying three assists each.

A see-saw battle over the opening nine-plus minutes would result in a 15-all tie at the 11:29 mark thanks to a lay-up by Oregon Tech's Brent Johnson. Over the next 90 seconds, Corban would use a 7-0 run en route to grabbing a seven-point lead (22-15) following a Keene three-pointer with just under 10 minutes on the clock. Oregon Tech would battle back to take a four-point lead (28-24) thanks to a 13-2 run that ended with a Kyle Gomez jumper in the paint at the 6:45 mark. The host Warriors would come back once again to tie the game for the seventh time at 28-28 after a Carter jumper in the paint with 5:36 remaining. The game would remaining a back-and-forth contest until the score was knotted at 33-all after a three-pointer by OIT's Mihajio Matic with just over two minutes left. Corban would take a slim two-point lead (36-34) into the locker room after Logan knocked down a three-pointer for the final points of the opening half.

The opening few minutes of the second half would belong to the host Warriors, as Corban increased its lead to eight points (42-34)  in the first 90 seconds after a pair of Carter free throws. Oregon Tech would use a 14-6 run over a span of three-and-a-half minutes to knot the game for the ninth time at 48-48 thanks to another Matic three-pointer with just under 15 minutes showing on the clock. With the score tied for 10th time at 56-all, Corban used an 8-1 run in less than two minutes en route to grabbing a seven-point advantage (64-57) after an unconventional four-point play by Keene with 10:46 left. The host Warriors would hold their lead until the 6:31 mark when OIT's Bryant Sentman knocked down a three-pointer for a 71-69 Owl lead. Not relenting to its nationally-ranked opponent, Corban retook the lead and then pushed it to seven points (80-73) after another Keene triple from the corner with 2:52 left. Unfortunately, the host Warriors could not hold the lead as Oregon Tech used a closing 8-1 run that concluded with a pair of Joseph Foster free throws with 13 seconds left that forced overtime after a three-pointer by Keene at the buzzer fell short.

In the extra period, Corban would grab a two-point lead (83-81) after a pair of Cronrath free throws in the opening 10 seconds. Another shot at the charity stripe by Cronrath would hand the host Warriors their final lead of the night (84-83), as Oregon Tech slowly crawled back into the game and eventually took a two-point lead (89-87) after a Sentman dunk with just over a minute left. Corban would pull within a single point (89-88) thanks to a Cronrath free throw with 45 seconds left. Following a missed jumper by OIT's Foster, Corban had one last chance to upset the nationally-ranked Owls. With seven seconds on the clock, Corban ran a play that concluded with a Logan jumper in the key rattling off the rim and falling to the floor as the final horn sounded handing Oregon Tech a nail-biting one-point win.

Foster led all players with a game-high 30 points for Oregon Tech, while Sentman and Gomez added 21 and 17 points respectively. Matic would add 10 points off the Owls' bench, while Johnson put together an eight-point, eight-rebound performance.

As a team, Corban shot a combined 28-for-56 (50.0%) from the field to go along with an 8-for-17 (47.1%) showing from long distance and a 24-for-34 (70.6%) performance from the free throw line. On the other hand, Oregon Tech shot a combined 32-for-74 (43.2%) from the field, 10-for-28 (35.7%) from long distance, and 15-for-19 (78.9%) at the charity stripe.

With tonight's result, Corban falls to 10-6 overall and 0-4 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Oregon Tech improves to 13-2 overall and 5-0 in league games. The Warriors will return to the hardwood tomorrow – Friday, December 31st – against nationally-ranked Southern Oregon beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.