SALEM, Ore. – Despite a strong start to the game, the Corban University men's basketball team couldn't find the spark to compete against a strong No. 8-ranked Northwest Christian University team, as the Warriors fell to the Beacons by a score of 83-71 on Wednesday night.
"First, I'd like to thank our students and athletic department here at Corban for creating a great home atmosphere tonight," said head coach Austin Johnson. "They were loud and kept the energy going all night. Hats off to Northwest Christian, as they played a great game and once they got control of it, they stayed with it. We need to bounce back and compete harder against Walla Walla on Friday."
The Warriors came out firing at the start of the game, sparking a 19-12 opening run that looked promising to compete against the high-powered Northwest Christian team. However, the Beacons answered right back with a run of their own, closing the first half on a 33-11 run to go up by 15 at the end of the half.
Junior guard AJ Monterossi led the way with 11 points in the first half for the Warriors, while Kenny Blackwell went 5-for-7, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc, for 15 of his own for the Beacons.
As the game progressed through the second half, Northwest Christian never looked back, as it ballooned the lead to 34 by the 12-minute mark. Corban would make a run of its own, closing the lead to 10 as the closing seconds wound down.
In the end, the Beacons' three-point shooting proved too much, as they shot 8-of-17 from behind the arc as a team for 47.1%. Three players led the scoring for NCU, as Kenny Blackwell, Brendyn Taylor, and Michael Loomis all finished with 15 points.
Monterossi, as well as senior Toby Roth, scored 11 points for Corban in the defeat, while junior Jake Love added 10 points.
Corban (13-10, 6-7 CCC) returns to action on Friday night, as it hosts Walla Walla University. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m.
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