BOX SCORE

PORTLAND, Ore. – Senior Jacob Kopra, junior Josiah Sebens, and freshman Andrew Evans all scored in double figures netting a combined 34 points, but it was not enough as Corban's men's basketball team fell to the NAIA's No. 11-ranked Knights of Warner Pacific, 78-53, Friday inside C.C. Perry Gymnasium.

With tonight's loss, Corban has dropped three straight falling to 6-10 overall and 2-6 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Warner Pacific improves to 16-4 overall and 7-1 in league games to remain tied for first place with Southern Oregon.

Evans led the Warriors in scoring for the fourth straight games with 13 points, while Kopra and Sebens added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Kopra also tied for the team lead in rebounds with sophomore Blake Purnell, as the duo grabbed four boards each. Meanwhile, Evans dished out a game-high tying six assists to raise his team-leading average to 5.0 dimes per contest.

After an Evans free throw tied the game at 12-12 with 12:26 on the clock, Warner Pacific used an 8-3 run to secure a five-point lead (20-15) on a three-pointer by Ryan Parks with 10:48 left. The host Knights would never relinquish the lead, as WPC extended it to as much as 21 points (46-25) thanks to a 26-10 run over a span of 10 minutes ending with a three-pointer by Doug Thomas with 1:49 left in the first half. Warner Pacific would settle for a 19-point advantage (46-27) at halftime following a two-point bucket by senior Marcus Butler that closed out the scoring over the first twenty minutes.

The second half would begin with Warner Pacific quickly extending its lead to 20 points, as the Knights' lead hovered in the 20-plus point range for the throughout the remainder of the game. WPC would earn a game-high 28-point cushion (71-43) on a jumper in the paint by Garrett Strausburg with 6:49 left, as Corban pulled to within 21 points (71-50) via a 7-0 run that concluded with a three-pointer by freshman Taylor Fox with just over five minutes on the clock. Over the final five-plus minutes, Warner Pacific would outscore Corban by a margin of 7-3 en route to earning the 25-point win (78-53).

Thomas would lead Warner Pacific in scoring with a game-high 18 points, while Marcus Moore added 17 points on a perfect 5-for-5 from the field knocking down all his shots from behind the three-point line. Parks would also scored in double figures for the Knights with 12 points, while Stephen Harris pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for WPC to go along with a game-high tying six assists by Josh Black.

As a team, Corban combined to shoot 20-of-49 (40.8%) from the field that included a 6-of-20 (30.0%) performance from beyond the three-point line and a 7-of-10 (70.0%) showing at the free throw line. On the other hand, Warner Pacific was a combined 28-of-56 (50.0%) from the field, 15-of-28 (53.6%) from long distance, and 7-of-12 (58.3%) at the charity stripe.

Corban will return to the hardwood tomorrow – Saturday, January 12th – against the Cavaliers of Concordia beginning at approximately 7:30 p.m. inside Cavalier Gymnasium in Portland.