EUGENE, Ore. – With junior forward Cyrus Ward (Gig Harbor, Wash.) providing a big-time performance for the Corban University men's basketball team, the Warriors used a large second-half scoring output to eventually blow past the New Hope Christian College Deacons on Saturday evening, 94-68. The win is Corban's third such result over New Hope during the 2014-15 campaign.
The triumph also means that the Navy and Gold finish the 2014 calendar year with a 9-3 record heading into the New Year with only conference contests remaining. For the season, Corban is 5-2 on the road, 4-1 on its home court, and 7-2 overall in non-conference action. Throughout the season, the Warriors have averaged 83.7 points-per-game while holding opponents to just a 69.0 points-per-game output, a +14.7 margin each game on average. The Warriors are also now riding a four-game winning streak heading into the home stretch of the campaign.
New Hope began the game very well, jumping on top and out to a 19-8 lead with 13:21 remaining in the first half. The score was then pushed to 24-14, but that is when the Warriors began to make their run, with senior guard Jordan Carter (Salem, Ore.) converting on a fast-break opportunity to make it an eight-point game.
Sophomore guard Caleb Herzberg (Beaverton, Ore.) then came into the contest and drained a shot from distance, further cutting into the deficit, and while the Deacons responded with a basket of their own, Ward answered with a layup and freshman guard Kade Crossland (Buhl, Idaho) sank a three-pointer to keep Corban within touching distance.
Down by six a few minutes later, sophomore guard Taylor Fox (Astoria, Ore.) provided a spark off the bench with a shot from downtown and then a steal and fast-break layup, cutting the Deacon lead to just one. Corban then scored the next 10 points, capped by another Fox three-ball, putting the Warriors in front by nine with just under two minutes left in the half.
Corban ultimately led by just five at the break, but at the start of the second stanza, the Warriors came out of the halftime intermission firing on all cylinders, opening the half on a 17-2 run to take a 19-point advantage. From that point on, the Warriors remained absolutely on fire, making 63.9% of their shots from the field, including a quartet of three-pointers, eventually tallying 55 points in that second half while outscoring the Deacons by 21 points.
"After a sluggish start, the guys got it going with a 15-0 run towards the end of the first half and never really looked back," stated head coach Steve Masten. "We had another good shooting night, hitting over 50% of our shots from the field, more than 40% from behind the three-point line, and over 80% from the foul line."
Ward finished the evening with 20 points and 19 rebounds, leading the team in both categories. In addition, he shot an efficient 8-for-14 from the field, and tallied two assists and two blocks in the process. Carter recorded 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while sophomore forward Cody Crowe (Grants Pass, Ore.) provided 12 points for the Navy and Gold. Additionally, freshman guard AJ Monterossi (Beaverton, Ore.) and Fox both finished in double figures with 10 points apiece.
Corban (9-3) returns to the hardwood on Friday, January 2, when it hosts Oregon Tech in a key Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) showdown in Salem. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
