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SALEM, Ore. – In the opening game of the Capital City Classic, Corban's men's basketball team dropped a heart-breaker to Western Oregon, 75-72, Friday inside the Cone Field House on the campus of Willamette University.

Sophomore Josiah Sebens led all players with a game-high 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field that included six three-pointers, while three other Warrior starters – junior Dustin Moore, sophomore Jordan Carter, and senior Erik Cronrath – scored in double figures with 15, 12, and 10 points respectively. Senior James Green led the Warriors with a game-high tying eight rebounds, while Moore handed out a game-high tying five assists.

Corban would grab a slim two-point lead (6-4) on a Sebens three-pointer with 17:21 on the clock, as the Warriors held the lead for the remainder of the opening half building it to as much as nine points (31-22) on a Cronrath jumper with 7:48 left. Western Oregon would pull within a bucket on two seperate occasions, but Corban would extend its lead back to seven points (38-31) at intermission thanks to a 5-0 run that closed the first half.

In the second half, Corban quickly jumped out to a double-digit lead (46-36) on another Sebens three-pointer with 17:54 left before Western Oregon began to chop away at the Warriors' lead. Over a span of eight-plus minutes, the Wolves would use an 18-8 run to tie the game for the first time at 54-all on a James Gehring lay-in at the 9:44 mark. Corban would quickly push its lead back to eight points (67-59) thanks to a 13-5 run that ended on a three-pointer by Moore with 6:04 left. An 11-2 run by Western Oregon would give the Wolves a slim one-point lead (70-69) thanks to a back-to-back free throws by Kolton Nelson with just over two minutes remaining. A three-pointer by Sebens would give Corban a two-point advantage (72-70) before Western Oregon took the lead for good on an old-fashion three-point play by Jordan Freelander with 42 ticks on the clock. Two free throws by WOU's Blair Wheadon and a pair of missed three-pointers by the Warriors sealed the deal for Corban, as it fell by three points (75-72) to Western Oregon.

Western Oregon was led offensively by Nelson with 16 points, while Wheadon, Kris White, and Gehring added 14, 11, and 10 points respectively. Gehring also grabbed a game-high tying eight rebounds, while Kyle Long dished out a game-high tying five assists.

As a team, Corban shot a combined 22-for-50 (44.0%) from the field to go along with a 15-for-29 (51.7%) showing from beyond the three-point line and a 13-for-14 (92.9%) performance at the free throw line. On the other hand, Western Oregon was 28-for-61 (45.9%) from the field, 7-for-19 (36.8%) from long distance, and 12-for-19 (63.2%) at the charity stripe.

With tonight's result, Corban falls to 4-4 on the season and Western Oregon improves to 4-1. The Warriors will conclude play at the Capital City Classic tomorrow – Saturday, November 26th – against tournament-host Willamette in the consolation game beginning at 5:00 p.m. inside Cone Field House in Salem.