SALEM, Ore – The Corban University men's basketball team battled against the No. 12 Concordia University Cavaliers on Friday evening in the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center, but the Warriors ultimately fell behind by too much in the second half and a late rally was not enough in a 79-74 defeat. Despite the loss, the Warriors remain in Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament contention with four games to play.
An intense, fast-paced opening stanza saw three ties and eight lead changes. Corban took its first lead (4-2) of the game at the 16:22 mark, as freshman guard AJ Monterossi (Beaverton, Ore.) found junior forward Cyrus Ward (Gig Harbor, Wash.) for the layup. After the Cavaliers took a 12-8 lead, Carter converted a three-point play and then followed that up with a three-pointer to give the Warriors a 14-12 advantage with 11:44 left in the first half.
Sophomore guard Taylor Fox (Astoria, Ore.) knocked down a three to grant the Navy and Gold a two-point (20-18) lead at the 9:34 mark, but the Cavaliers drilled four long-range efforts on their next five possessions to take a 34-27 advantage with just under four minutes left In the opening frame. When Concordia's lead reached double-digits (40-29) for the first time in the game (1:28), Monterossi and Ward tossed in buckets to bring Corban to within seven (40-33) going into the locker room.
Corban (12-11, 5-9 CCC) shot 46.7% (14-for-30) from the field in the first stanza, while Concordia tossed in a 48.4% (15-for-31) clip. The Cavaliers edged the Warriors on the glass (18-15), and Concordia was 8-for-14 (57.1%) from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes. Both Ward and Carter registered 10 first-half points for Corban, while senior guard Tyler Velasquez paced Concordia (20-4, 10-3 CCC) with 11 points.
Sophomore guard Caleb Herzberg started the second half on the right foot for Corban, as he drilled back-to-back three's to bring the Warriors to within one (40-39) at the 18:57 mark. However, Corban's momentum didn't last long, as Concordia initiated a suffocating full-court press and responded with a 17-1 run over the next six minutes to take a 56-41 lead.
Although Fox's three on the next possession cut the deficit to 12 points (56-44) with 12:05 left to play, Concordia scurried five unanswered points in the next minute to take a 17-point lead. Later in the stanza, Carter knocked down back-to-back buckets for the Warriors to cut the deficit to 13 (66-53) with 6:14 remaining. After a Corban free throw, sophomore forward Cody Crowe (Grants Pass, Ore.) swooshed a three-pointer to cut the Concordia lead to single digits (66-57).
Corban eventually got as close as eight points, but Concordia continued to generate offense off its defense, and the Cavaliers leaped to a 15-point lead (74-59) with 3:05 left in regulation. The Warriors composed one last rally in the final minutes, as Monterossi's first-career three-pointer cut the Cavaliers' advantage to seven (77-70) with 30 seconds left, but it was too little too late, as Concordia held on for a 79-74 victory.
"We showed some fight with our comeback late in the game," said head coach Steve Masten. "We had some breakdowns defensively for a stretch that allowed Concordia to build a lead. We didn't shoot the ball well enough to beat a really good team."
Carter finished the game shooting 7-for-13 from the field for 17 points to go along with six boards, while Ward registered a double-double effort with 10 points and 12 boards. Monterossi put together a solid overall effort as well, scoring 14 points while dishing out eight assists and nabbing two steals.
For Concordia, it was Thomas Pierce leading the way with a game-high 22 points, while Velasquez recorded a 20-point, five-board, and six-assist evening.
As a team, the Warriors shot 41.3% from the field, while Concordia notched a 51.9% mark comparatively. Corban went 9-of-22 from downtown on the night, while the Cavaliers finished 8-of-15 from beyond the arc.
The Navy and Gold returns to action tomorrow night to take on No. 16 Warner Pacific College in Salem, Ore. at 7:30 p.m.
