BOX SCORE

SALEM, Ore. – In today's world of video game systems such as Wii, PS3, or PSP, the old-school Nintendo game Super Mario Brothers always had an evil character named King Koopa that was a thorn in the side of Mario and Luigi.

Junior Jacob Kopra plays that character perfectly when Corban's men's basketball team takes on nationally-ranked Eastern Oregon this season. The 6-foot-4 forward continued to put up career numbers against the Mountaineers, as he scored a game and career-high 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting from the field tonight that included a 5-for-8 showing from beyond the three-point line in the Warriors' 79-73 victory over EOU. In two games this season against nationally-ranked Eastern Oregon, Kopra has combined to score 52 points and set single-game career-highs each night.

Along with Kopra, sophomore Jordan Carter added 21 points that included a 9-for-13 performance at the free throw line. Despite Carter being the only other Warrior in double figures, senior Erik Cronrath added eight points to go along with a seven-rebound, six-assist showing by Carter.

Corban began the game hitting seven-of-nine shots from the field that included a 6-of-7 showing from beyond the three-point line, as the host Warriors built an early 13-point lead (19-6) on five straight field goals with the final one coming via a three-pointer by Kopra with 15:04 remaining. Despite leading by double digits in the opening five minutes, Corban could not keep Eastern Oregon at bay as the visiting Mountaineers used a 31-20 run over a span of 14 minutes to pull within two points (39-37) thanks to a free throw by Salem-native Trent Roos with 74 seconds on the clock. A closing 6-0 run by the host Warriors that included a jumper in the lane by Carter just before the buzzer sounded would hand Corban a 43-37 lead heading into halftime.

The second half would see Corban build an eight-point lead (49-41) on back-to-back free throws by Kopra with 16:45 left, as Eastern Oregon then used a 5-0 run to pull within three points (49-46) on a John Buhler three-pointer with just under 15 minutes remaining. Fortunately for the host Warriors, Eastern Oregon would not get any closer as Corban built a 12-point advantage (60-48) thanks to an 11-2 run over a span of five minutes capped by a Kopra jumper with 9:47 on the clock. Both teams would battle back and forth over the next seven minutes until Corban held another 12-point lead (69-57) thanks to a Kopra three-pointer with two-and-a-half minutes left. Wanting to make the host Warriors win the game at the free throw line, Eastern Oregon began trading single points for two- and three-point buckets in an attempt to fight its way back into the game. Over the next minute-plus, Corban would go 5-for-8 at the charity stripe and extended its lead to a game-high 14 points (74-60). In the final minute, Eastern Oregon would get back-to-back three-pointer by Roos to bring the difference below double-digits only to have Corban knock down 5-of-10 at the free throw line en route to securing the six-point win (79-73).

Eastern Oregon was led offensively by Anthony Brown with 14 points, while JaMier Morris was the only other Mountaineer in double figures with 10 points off the bench. Kylian Wood would pull down a game-high 12 rebounds for EOU, while Cody Thurmond and Wood dished out a team-best three assists each.

As a team, Corban combined to shoot 24-for-55 (43.6%) from the field that included an 8-for-20 (40.0%) showing from beyond the three-point line and a season-high 23-for-36 (63.9%) performance at the free throw line. On the other hand, Eastern Oregon was 27-for-65 (41.5%) from the field, 7-for-22 (31.8%) from long distance, and 12-for-19 (63.2%) at the charity stripe.

Corban will return to action tomorrow – Saturday, February 4th – against The College of Idaho beginning at approximately 7:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center in Salem.