BOX SCORE

SALEM, Ore. – Despite a career-high nine points from freshman Andrew Evans, Corban's men's basketball team could not overcome a hot-shooting Oregon Tech squad from three-point range in a 73-59 Cascade Collegiate Conference loss Friday inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.

With tonight's result, Corban drops to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Oregon Tech improves to 8-3 overall and 1-0 in league games.

Junior Jordan Carter would lead the Warriors in scoring with 12 points, while Evans and senior Jacob Kopra added nine points each. Senior Marcus Butler and freshman Kent Foster would chip in with seven and six points, respectively, while Butler grabbed a team-high six rebounds to go along with a game-high five assists by Evans.

After grabbing an early three-point lead (7-4) on a jumper in the paint by Carter with 16:31 on the clock, the host Warriors would watch Oregon Tech use an 8-0 run to secure a five-point lead (12-7) that the visiting Owls would never relinquish. OIT would extend its lead to nine points (27-18) on back-to-back free throws by Derek Evans before Corban pulled to within four points (27-23) on a 5-0 run that concluded on a free throw by Carter with just under five minutes left. Over the final five minutes, Oregon Tech would use a 13-3 run en route to securing a 14-point lead (40-26) at halftime.

The second half would see Oregon Tech hold a double-digit lead throughout, as the visiting Owls increased their lead to as much as 20 points (73-53) on a lay-in by Alex Zerbach with 2:32 on the clock. Over the final two-and-a-half minutes, Corban would score the game's final six points but could not overcome OIT's lead settling for the final margin of 14 points (73-59).

Mihajlo Matic would lead all scorers for Oregon Tech with a game-high 15 points, while Jordan Kiely added 11 points to go along with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds by Zerbach. Five OIT players – David Clarke, Josh Wiseman, Josh Johnson, Matic, and Austen Flint – would each hand out a team-high three assists, while Wiseman registered a game-high three steals for the Owls.

As a team, Corban combined to shoot 22-for-51 (43.1%) from the field that included a 5-for-19 (26.3%) showing from beyond the three-point line and a 10-for-18 (55.6%) performance at the free throw line. On the other hand, Oregon Tech was a combined 25-for-59 (42.4%) from the field, 14-of-31 (45.2%) from long distance, and 9-of-13 (69.2%) at the charity stripe.

Both teams will continue play on the opening weekend of Cascade Collegiate Conference action tomorrow – Saturday, December 1st – when Corban hosts the NAIA's No. 16-ranked Southern Oregon in Salem and Oregon Tech travels to Eugene to take on Northwest Christian. Tip-off is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m. for both games.