LEWISTON, Idaho - While playing on the second day of the Lewis-Clark State Tournament, the Corban University men's basketball team used a big second half to pull off the upset against NAIA Division I opponent and the No. 23-ranked University of Montana-Western. For the Warriors, it was the culmination of a great overall weekend of basketball in Idaho.

"For the second night in a row, we showed a lot of heart," said Corban head coach Steve Masten. "After giving up 50 points and being down nine at the half, our defense stiffened and we held Montana-Western to 34 points in the second half. The guys showed a lot of composure down the stretch!"

Corban received major contributions from  a number of individuals, but as a team, the Warriors took advantage of at 16-4 edge in points-off-turnovers on the night while also scoring 16 second-chance points. Additionally, the Warriors got 37 points from their bench as compared to just 29 from Montana-Western.

Despite trailing by eight points at the half, Corban came out firing in the second stanza, and it was sophomore guard Caleb Dozier (Beaverton, Ore.) who nailed a pair of long-range efforts early on, cutting the deficit after a few minutes to just six points. Junior guard Taylor Fox (Astoria, Ore.) sank a three-pointer of his own, and then freshman forward Joel Johnson (Tigard, Ore.) played big inside, converting on some key opportunities down low to give Corban its first lead of the second half at 64-63 with 9:38 left in regulation.

The two sides went back-and-forth down the stretch, trading buckets with Warrior senior forward Cyrus Ward (Gig Harbor, Wash.) converting on a key shot for Corban. Montana-Western showed its resiliency, however, taking the lead back at 84-83 with 1:11 to go on the clock. Warrior senior forward Cody Crowe (Grants Pass, Ore.) then made one of the biggest shots of his Corban career, nailing the go-ahead three-pointer with 45 seconds remaining, and some good free-throw shooting down the stretch sealed the Navy and Gold triumph.

Off the bench, it was Fox who led the way with 18 points and six made three-pointers for the Warriors, while Johnson had a career-best night with 14 points and seven boards. From the starting crew, sophomore guard AJ Monterossi (Beaverton, Ore.) scored 16 points and dished out six assists, while Ward added 15 points for Corban to go along with seven rebounds.

As a team, Corban shot 48.6% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc. Moreover, Corban went 81.8% from the line in the win.

Corban (2-1) returns home to play Simpson University on Friday in the opening game of the Corban Classic. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

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