EUGENE, Ore. – For the third-straight game, the Corban University men's basketball team battled against an NAIA Top-25 opponent on the road, and for the third-consecutive game, the Warriors came up just short of pulling off an upset, losing on Tuesday night on the road against No. 7-ranked Northwest Christian University, 82-77.
"It was our third road game in five days against a great top-25 team," said Corban head coach Austin Johnson. "I loved the energy we played with tonight and even in some adverse conditions. In the end, NCU just made a few more winning plays which was the difference. Our guys dug in and competed even when it wasn't pretty, and I'm fortunate to coach them. We'll keep working."
Corban wasted no time in extending its NAIA-leading three-point streak to 982 straight games with a made long range effort when Caleb Herzberg drained one from deep, giving Corban the first points of the contest.
Early on in the contest, Corban came out shooting the ball well, draining shots from deep all over the floor, and when Joel Johnson made a layup midway through the first half to put Corban up 21-8, it marked Corban's biggest lead of the game. The Beacons showed why they are ranked so high in the top-25 poll, however, battling back to trail by just two points at the halftime break, 38-36.
NCU was able to get to the free-throw line quite frequently in the first 20 minutes, going 17-for-23 from the line, while Corban was awarded one free trip to the charity stripe, going 1-for-2.
In the second half, it came down to the wire, as when AJ Monterossi nailed a step-back jumper with 56 seconds remaining on the clock, he tied the contest at 77-77.
NCU's next possession resulted in a made three-point shot however and then Corban missed its try from deep, forcing the Warriors into the foul-game. Corban tried to put together a couple of late long-range efforts, but they ultimately fell short, resulting in the five-point win for the Beacons.
For the game, Corban shot just 39.5% from the field and 34.3% from downtown, hitting 12 long-range efforts. In addition, the Warriors finished the contest 5-for-8 from the charity stripe. Individually, Chris Martin led the way for the Warriors with 18 points on a 5-for-18 shooting mark, while Jake Love contributed 15 points and Johnson tallied 14 points and a team-best 10 rebounds. Moreover, in his first game back from an injury, Monterossi totaled 13 points and three assists.
For the Beacons, the No. 7-ranked team shot 48.9% from the floor and 38.5% from deep. NCU went 33-of-46 from the free-throw line, with Jay Mayernik leading the way with 22 points and a 12-for-18 effort from the charity stripe. Jack Hackman totaled 16 points for the Beacons, while Kylor Kelly tallied 14 points and Kenny Blackwell finished with 12 points.
Corban (8-7, 1-4 CCC) returns to the court on December 31 when it travels on the road again to take on Walla Walla University. Tipoff against the Wolves is set for 7:30 p.m.
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