SALEM, Ore. – On December 4, 1987, a member of the Corban University men's basketball team drained a shot from behind the three-point line, and in doing so, he began a streak that unbeknownst to him, would still be alive to this day. Now more than 27 years later, the Warriors are riding a 920 consecutive-game streak with at least one three-pointer made in every contest, ranking as the longest such streak in all of collegiate sports, thus making Corban, 'Three-Point U'.
Corban is currently tied atop the list of all collegiate men's basketball divisions (NAIA, NCAA D1, NCAA D2, NCAA D3) for the longest consecutive-game streak with a three-pointer made (920 straight games), sitting atop the list with UNLV. Both teams have traded the top spot back and forth over the years, but the two squads currently sit tied atop the leaderboard. As Corban is the NAIA leader, UNLV is the Division I top dog, Kentucky Wesleyan is the NCAA Division II leader (745 games), and Salisbury University sits atop the Division III board with 614 straight games having drained a three-point shot.
The three-point line was adopted full-time at the collegiate level prior to the 1986-87 season. During the 1987-1988 campaign, the year in which the Warriors began their streak, Corban's current assistant coach, Tim Hills, was the head coach for the Warriors at the time. Known for having his team's play a style of basketball conducive to the three-point shot, it makes sense that the streak began under Hills's tenure.
"We were shooting a lot of threes when I first came in and put in special plays for those shots right away," stated Hills. "It doesn't surprise me that we hold the longevity record for threes since we were shooting a lot of them and were running plays to hot shooters for threes right from the beginning of when the three-pointer was introduced. We even had t-shirts made that read '3 for me and 2 for you'. Our kids bought into it right from the start."
Some of the notable dates during Corban's streak include the 100th-straight game with a three-pointer against Concordia University on February 26, 1990, as well as No. 500 against Ohio Valley College on March 16, 2001. The Navy and Gold eventually reached the 900-game plateau on January 31, 2014, against Southern Oregon University.
The Warriors have continued to build on the rich tradition of three-point shooting during the 2014-15 campaign, shooting at an impressive clip of 41.1% from downtown throughout the season with 83 three-point field goals made. It is not just one player getting it done for Corban either, as virtually anyone on the floor can make a jumper from beyond the arc at any given moment during the game.
Sophomore guard Caleb Herzberg (Beaverton, Ore.) currently leads the team with 27 three-pointers, while freshman guard Kade Crossland (Buhl, Idaho) has converted on 54.3% of his shots from three-point range, making 19 thus far on the year. In addition, senior guard Jordan Carter (Salem, Ore.) shoots 40.0% from downtown with 16 made long-range efforts thus far on the season.
On top of those three players, sophomore guards Toby Roth (Silverton, Ore.) and Taylor Fox (Astoria, Ore.) both shoot well from long distance, each having made eight three-pointers on the year.
"The tradition of recruiting three-point shooters that Coach Hills began 27 years ago continues to this day," commented current head coach Steve Masten. "Last year, Caleb Herzberg was third in the nation in three-point percentage. This year, freshman Kade Crossland is ranked eighth in the country for three-point shooting percentage. It is unique that Corban University has a streak that has lasted that long and I don't think it will end any time soon."
While at home games in the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center, fans can be sure to look up at the Les Schwab Three-Point Tracker located on the second level behind and to the right of the Warrior team bench. This three-point tracker totals the number of three-pointers made by both Warrior teams throughout the course of the season. In addition, a "3" board will be added along the upper deck next to the season's running total for every Warrior made three-pointer in each game, making it easy for everyone at the game to be able to track how many three-balls have been made during that contest.
The Warriors will look to continue the streak this Friday and Saturday as they host Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon University. Both the Owls and the Raiders are coming off of sweeps of Eastern Oregon University and The College of Idaho, so both games this weekend will surely be tough tests for the Warriors. On the season, Oregon Tech allows just a 31.2% shooting mark from three-point land, while Southern Oregon surrenders an opponent's shooting percentage of 32.8% from downtown.
In addition to the Corban men playing in their first home Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) games of the year, the Warrior women also play host to the Owls and Raiders. Tipoffs on Friday, January 2, are set for a 5:30 p.m. start-time for the women against Oregon Tech, while the men will take on the Owls at 7:30 p.m. Corban then turns around a day later and hosts Southern Oregon on Saturday, January 3, with the women once again starting at 5:30 p.m., and the men tipping-off at 7:30 p.m. If you cannot make it to these pivotal CCC games, be sure to follow all of the action via live stats and the live video broadcast.
