SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University men's basketball team came up against a hot-shooting opponent on Sunday evening, falling to No. 15-ranked Lewis-Clark State College of the NAIA Division I, 101-79.
"Tonight was great test for us against a team that pressures for 40 minutes," said Corban head coach Austin Johnson. "We had some early turnovers, but were much better with the basketball in the second half."
Corban started the game off well, trading buckets on either end with the highly-touted Lewis-Clark State squad. Both teams were efficient early on, and AJ Monterossi had Corban up early as the Warriors worked inside with Monterossi scoring six quick points.
Chris Martin then came off the bench for the Navy and Gold and nailed back-to-back three-pointers, putting Corban up 20-19 midway through the first stanza. LCSC continued to provide the answer, however, and the road squad crashed the boards, getting a number of second-chance opportunities that resulted in easy buckets.
The game remained close and was tied at 30-30, but then Lewis-Clark State used a 21-10 run to close out the half to take an 11-point lead into the break.
In the second half, Corban tried to climb back into the contest, but for every run Corban made, LCSC had the answer. Ultimately, the road side nailed 11 three-pointers and scored 48 points in the paint to just 36 for Corban, proving to be the difference. Corban also committed 22 turnovers on the evening to just nine for LC State, and LCSC converted those turnovers into 24 points.
"Our guys competed all night and we had some great stretches, but our margin for error is too small to overcome 22 turnovers and some lapses in transition defense," said Johnson. "Regardless, I am confident that we're moving in the right direction and I'm thankful for the investment of our players."
Joel Johnson had a very efficient evening for Corban, going 7-for-8 from the field for 15 total points, while Martin finished the evening with 14 points. Toby Roth also had a solid game for Corban in 15 minutes of action, scoring 10 points with a pair of long-range efforts. Caleb Dozier grabbed eight boards to lead the way for the Warriors while also chipping in with six points.
For LCSC (6-1), Doug McDaniel scored a game-high 27 points to go with nine boards, while Zavon Jackson poured in 20 points for the road side.
Corban (3-3) returns to the court on Tuesday evening when it hosts cross-town rival Willamette University. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
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