LA GRANDE, Ore. - Senior guard Jordan Carter (Salem, Ore.) drilled the game-winning free throws with five seconds left, and the Corban University men's basketball squeezed out a 65-64 thriller over Eastern Oregon University on Friday night. With the victory, the Warriors improved to 7-5 on the season in road contests, while Mountaineers suffered their fifth-straight loss.

Junior forward Cyrus Ward (Gig Harbor, Wash.) scored a team-high 21 points on 10-for-17 shooting, while sophomore forward Cody Crowe (Grants Pass, Ore.) registered a season-high in Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) play with 13 points, including a pair of three-pointers.

Corban (14-11, 7-9 CCC) started the contest on fire, as the Warriors made their first four field goals to take a 10-4 lead after sophomore guard Caleb Herzberg (Beaverton, Ore.) drilled a three-pointer. The Navy and Gold continued to scorch the nets, as Ward's layup pushed Corban's lead to eight (19-11) with 11:36 left in the first half.  

Although the Warriors shot 61.5% (8-for-13) in the opening 10 minutes, the Mountaineers picked up their defensive intensity and eventually took a 27-25 lead with 4:02 remaining in the stanza. Crowe tied the game with a jumper on Corban's next possession, but Eastern Oregon scored eight of the final 12 points of the frame to claim a 35-31 halftime lead.

The Navy and Gold fired a 50.0% (12-for-24) clip in the first 20 minutes, while the Mountaineers shot an astounding 59.3% (16-for-27) from the field. Crowe led the way for Corban with 10 first-half points on 3-for-4 shooting. Meanwhile, two players had already reached double figures for Eastern Oregon, as senior guard De'Sean Mattox and junior forward Bryan McGriff tallied 14 and 12 points, respectively.

The opening moments of the second half saw a seesaw battle, as neither team led by more than four points in the first 10 minutes of the stanza. Herzberg's jumper from downtown helped Corban take the lead (40-39) at the 17:11 mark, but Eastern Oregon answered with a 5-0 run to reclaim the advantage (44-40).

With 14:24 left in regulation, a pair of free throws by Carter ignited a 17-3 run over the next eight minutes to capture a 57-47 lead with 6:28 remaining in the contest. The Warriors' streak included three's by both Crowe and sophomore guard Taylor Fox (Astoria, Ore.), while Carter and Ward combined to score the remaining 11 points in the run.

After a layup by sophomore guard Toby Roth (Silverton, Ore.) put the Navy and Gold ahead by 10 (59-49) with just under six minutes left to play, the game began to get a little interesting, as Mattox's sparked 7-0 burst by Eastern Oregon to trim Corban's lead to just three (59-56) with 3:47 on the clock.

Ward fired back with a jumper on Corban's next possession to give the Warriors a little bit of breathing room, but the Mountaineers continued to chip away and eventually got to within one (63-62) at the 1:21 mark after another bucket by Mattox. With the shot clock winding down on the ensuing possession, Ward's shot couldn't find the bottom of the net, and then McGriff scored a basket to give Eastern Oregon the lead (64-63) with 17 seconds left.

With just five ticks on the clock, Carter calmly converted a pair of free throws to give Corban a one-point (65-64) advantage. On Eastern Oregon's last chance, Mattox's three-point attempt was off the mark, and the Warriors survived for the triumph.

"We weren't great, but we were really gritty and kept our poise throughout the game," said head coach Steve Masten. "It was a great team performance."

Herzberg finished the night with 10 points, including a 2-for-4 effort from beyond the arc. Fox drilled a couple of three's en route to an eight-point effort, while Carter compiled seven points, six assists, and four rebounds for the Warriors.

The Mountaineers were led by its two leading scorers on the season, as Mattox and McGriff registered 25 and 20 points, respectively. Junior forward Christian Parrott came off the bench to snag 10 rebounds, while senior guard Deonta Edwards scored six points thanks to a couple of three-pointers.

Corban shot 49.0% (25-for-51) from the field, including a 6-for-15 effort from beyond the arc. Eastern Oregon cooled off in the second half and launched a 47.3% (25-for-53) clip, as the Warriors held the Mountaineers to just one three-pointer in the final 20 minutes.

Corban returns to the hardwood tomorrow evening, as the Warriors will look to knock off No. 4 The College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho at 6:30 PST.