REDDING, Calif. – The Corban University men's basketball team outscored the Simpson University Red Hawks in the second half on Monday evening on the road, but a slow start in the first half ultimately doomed the Warriors in an 87-79 defeat.
"Our guys competed and we had some great efforts off the bench," said Corban head coach Austin Johnson. "We did not get off to the start we needed to in order to be successful on the road, and as head coach I'll take responsibility for that. Cannot fault our guys for their effort or desire to win, and we'll learn from this moving forward and find a way to improve in practice this week."
On the evening, Corban shot just 37.1% from the floor and only 20.6% from beyond the arc, going 7-of-34 from deep. In addition, the Warriors committed 19 turnovers, and Simpson took advantage of that, scoring 24 points off of those turnovers. While the Warriors tried to mount the second-half comeback and cut into Simpson's lead, a 20-of-32 effort from the charity stripe also didn't help the Warriors cause, resulting in the tough eight-point defeat.
After trailing by nine points at the half, the Warriors were behind by double-digits for much of the second stanza, but showed grit and fought back to pull to within four points within the final minute. But it proved to be too little too late, as the Red Hawks were able to make their free throws down the stretch, resulting in the eight-point victory.
Junior guard AJ Monterossi scored 16 points for the Warriors on a 7-for-16 mark from the field, while sophomore forward Joel Johnson also scored 16 points while grabbing a team-best eight rebounds.
In addition to those two, senior guard Caleb Herzberg chipped in with 14 points, while off the bench, junior guard Andrew Evans was very efficient in just seven minutes of action, scoring 12 points on a 4-for-5 shooting effort.
Corban (1-2) returns to action on Friday when it travels to Corvallis, Ore., to take on NCAA Division I opponent, Oregon State University. Tipoff against the Beavers is set for 7 p.m.
Become a fan of Corban Athletics on Facebook
Follow Corban Athletics on Twitter @CorbanAthletics
Follow Corban Athletics on Instagram: corbanathletics
Follow Corban Athletics on Snapchat: corbanathletics
Watch Corban Warrior videos on Youtube: CorbanUAthletics
Sign up for our Corban Warriors email Newsletter
#WarriorNation
