PORTLAND, Ore. – The Corban University Men's Basketball team held the lead for the first 16 minutes of play on the road at Warner Pacific College, but couldn't quite repeat that performance in the second half, as the Warriors suffered a heartbreaking 87-86 defeat at the hands of the Knights on Friday evening.

Thanks to an incredible 75.86% shooting performance for Corban in the first half, the Warriors held a 52-47 advantage heading into the intermission. After sophomore point-guard AJ Monterossi (Beaverton, Ore.) dropped a beautiful jumper on the first possession of the game, freshman forward Joel Johnson (Portland, Ore.) recorded a layup to shoot the Warriors ahead early. Johnson was a perfect seven for seven from the field in the first half, pacing Corban with 16 points.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, Warner Pacific came out hot in the second half, opening play with a 10-2 run to put the Knights ahead. In a second half that featured three lead changes and five ties, a three-point shot by Collin Malcom with just under two minutes left to play was ultimately the deciding factor in the game.

Corban had a chance to tie or win the game in the waning seconds, getting the ball back with just six ticks on the clock. Unfortunately, the Warriors couldn't quite find the net, and dropped the one point decision.

"Great effort by the team tonight," said Corban head coach Steve Masten. "They handled us at our place and tonight we played really well at both ends. We shot the ball extremely well and came up just short."

Stat of the day: Corban's 63.8% shooting from the field was a season high.

Johnson led the Warriors with 25 points on 11 of 12 shooting, along with nine rebounds. Junior guard Caleb Herzberg added 21 points on a season-high seven three-pointers, while Monterossi chipped in another 17 points to go along with 14 assists.

De'Jon Bowman scored 25 points for the Knights, while Taylor Young added 22.

Corban (14-11, 8-9 CCC) will return to the court when they take on Multnomah University on the road on Saturday, February 13, in Portland. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.