SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University men's basketball team battled with The Evergreen State College Geoducks on Saturday evening in the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center, and in one of the most exciting games of the season, the Warriors came out on top, 74-70. With the win, the Warriors complete the weekend sweep of the two Washington-based schools and the season-sweep of the Geoducks.
For the second night in a row, the points scored in the paint for Corban proved to be huge, as the Navy and Gold finished the night with 42 points in the paint, while Evergreen only scored 30. Indicative of its dominance inside, Corban also held the rebounding edge over the Geoducks, 41-29.
The Warriors didn't have to wait long on Saturday night to extend its collegiate-best streak with a three-pointer made to 928 games as sophomore guard Caleb Herzberg (Beaverton, Ore.) nailed a shot from distance for Corban's first basket of the game. That shot would be a sign of things to come for Herzberg on the evening.
Junior forward Cyrus Ward (Gig Harbor, Wash.) followed that up with two-straight layups inside for the Warriors, and for him, those points were just the start of a monster night. Senior guard Jordan Carter (Salem, Ore.) then came down the floor for Corban and converted on a pair of nifty layup opportunities at the rim, giving the Warriors the early 11-6 advantage.
Midway through the first stanza, freshman guard Kade Crossland (Buhl, Idaho) came off the bench for the Navy and Gold and was money from downtown, hitting nothing but net for Corban to make it a 20-12 advantage at the 9:08 mark.
Late in the first half, Ward continued his dominance of Evergreen inside, scoring on consecutive possessions for the Warriors to keep Corban in front. By the half however, the Geoducks fought back and the game was tied at 26-26.
To begin the second stanza, Evergreen came out firing, scoring early and often while nabbing a 36-30 lead after just three minutes. Brock Otis capped off the 10-4 run with an and-one play at the rack for the Geoducks.
Corban would respond, but the Geoducks continued to score on their offensive end of the floor, maintaining their lead. With 11:44 remaining in regulation, however, that is when the momentum shifted. Herzberg nailed consecutive three-pointers for Corban to tie the contest at 47-47, and then on the next possession down the floor, he received a back-door pass from sophomore forward Cody Crowe (Grants Pass, Ore.) and scored on a reverse layup to give Corban the lead.
Ward followed that up with consecutive layups down low, and Carter and freshman guard AJ Monterossi responded to a pair of Geoduck shots with strong takes to the rack, keeping the Warriors on top, 57-53.
Down the home stretch, Corban continued to pound it inside with Ward, and he did not disappoint, scoring at will and keeping the Navy and Gold in front. Corban ultimately made its free throws late to seal the contest, sending the Warrior faithful home happy.
As a team, the Warriors shot 45.6% from the field and 85.0% from the free-throw line (17-of-20). Evergreen shot 43.5% from the floor and went 9-for-29 from downtown for the game. Individually, Brock Otis tallied a team-best 21 points for the Geoducks (3-15, 0-11 CCC).
For Corban, Ward finished with a game-high 26 points on 12-of-14 shooting to go along with seven boards, while Herzberg racked up 16 points with four three-pointers throughout the contest. In addition, Carter finished the game with 14 points on a 6-for-12 shooting effort and nine boards.
Corban (11-9, 4-7 CCC) takes to the road next weekend when it faces Southern Oregon University and Oregon Tech in a pair of CCC showdowns. Tipoffs on Friday and Saturday night are set for 7:30 p.m.
