BOX SCORE
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – It was a tale of two halves Saturday at Danny Miles Court, as Corban's men's basketball team held a six-point halftime lead on the NAIA's No. 9-ranked Oregon Tech before going cold in the second half en route to an 87-76 loss to the host Hustlin' Owls.
Four Warriors scored in double figures led by freshman
Jordan Carter (Salem, Ore.) with 20 points, while junior
Erik Cronrath (Battle Ground, Wash.), senior
Ian Logan (Aloha, Ore.), and junior
Jonathan Ramirez (New Britain, Conn.) tallied 16, 14, and 13 points respectively. Carter also grabbed a team-high six rebounds, while Cronrath handed out a game-high tying six assists.
Corban would shoot 58.6% (17-for-29) from the field over the opening 20 minutes, while Oregon Tech put up 25 three-point shots knocking down 11 of its 12 first half field goals from long distance. The visiting Warriors would hold a six-point lead at intermission (48-42) before shooting 36.0% (9-for-26) in the second half, as the host Owls knocked down 55.6% (20-for-36) of its shots with only four coming from beyond the arc en route to picking up the come-from-behind victory.
The opening half began with Corban scoring the first seven points before Oregon Tech used an 8-0 run to take a one-point lead (8-7) with 16:05 left on the clock. Both teams would trade buckets over the next three-plus minutes until Oregon Tech held a slim one-point lead (21-20) after a David Clarke three-pointer with 12:42 remaining. The next four-plus minutes would belong to the visiting Warriors, as Corban used a 14-2 run to take an 11-point lead (34-23) following a Ramirez jumper at the 8:34 mark. Oregon Tech would then use a 17-6 run to knot the game at 40-all thanks to a Joseph Foster three-pointer with 4:29 on the clock. Over the final four minutes, Corban outscored its nationally-ranked opponent by six points (8-2) to take a 48-42 advantage into halftime following a Carter three-pointer that capped the first half scoring.
Oregon Tech would own the second half, as the host Owls came out of the gate and used a 13-7 run to knot the game at 55-55 after another Foster three-pointer with 15:34 left in the game. A Logan three-pointer at the 14:40 mark would give Corban its final lead of the night (58-55) before Oregon Tech used a 32-17 run to take its largest lead of the night (87-72) before settling for the 11-point win (87-76) after Carter knocked down a pair of free throws to finish out the night's scoring.
Foster would lead all scorers with a game-high 22 points for Oregon Tech, while three other Owls – Scotty Riddle, Kyle Gomez, and Clarke – added 16, 15, and 14 points respectively. Gomez also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, while Clarke handed out a game-high tying six assists for the victorious Owls.
As a team, Corban shot 26-for-54 (48.1%) from the field to go along with an 11-for-22 (50.0%) showing from beyond the three-point line and a combined 13-for-21 (61.9%) performance from the free throw line. On the other hand, Oregon Tech was a combined 32-for-68 (47.1%) from the field, 15-for-36 (41.7%) from long distance, and 8-for-13 (61.5%) at the charity stripe.
With tonight's result, Corban falls to 14-11 overall and 4-9 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Oregon Tech improves to 21-3 overall and 12-1 in league games. The Warriors will return to the hardwood on Friday, February 4th, against rival Concordia beginning at approximately 7:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
