LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Corban University men's basketball team led for much of Saturday night's Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) contest at Eastern Oregon University, but in the end, the Mountaineers proved to be clutch, scoring the go-ahead three-point play with 1.9 seconds remaining en route to the 83-80 triumph.

"I was very pleased with our effort and energy on the second day of a tough back-to-back," said Corban head coach Austin Johnson. "Ultimately, we didn't play well enough to close out the game, but credit to EOU for making adjustments and grinding out a win."

An efficient first half led the Warriors to a 40-31 advantage at the halftime break, but EOU stormed out in the second half and cut into Corban's advantage right away. The Warriors held off the Mountaineers for much of the second half, but late on, the two sides traded buckets, and with the game tied at 80-80, EOU's Max McCullough drove past two Warrior defenders and converted a three-point play, making a layup and sinking the free-throw with less than two seconds left on the clock.

Corban tried a half-court heave to tie the contest at the buzzer, but the shot didn't find its mark, resulting in the three-point defeat for the Warriors.

The Warriors shot 55.6% from the field as a whole, but the Warriors were cold from downtown, making just 6-of-23 shots from deep for a 26.1% mark. In addition, Corban made just 14-of-26 shots from the charity stripe for just a 53.8% clip in the three-point defeat.

On the other side of the ball, EOU hit 11-of-21 from downtown and made 8-of-11 free-throw opportunities, ultimately proving to be the difference in both categories.

AJ Monterossi led the way throughout the evening for the Warriors individually, scoring 26 points on a 10-for-15 shooting mark. Caleb Dozier was also effective, scoring 14 points while also grabbing 10 boards. Additionally, Joel Johnson totaled 14 points with six rebounds, while Chris Martin recorded 12 points and a team-best five assists.

Corban (8-5, 2-3 CCC) takes a break from action over the Christmas time before returning to action on December 29-30 when the Warriors host Northwest University and The Evergreen State College. Tipoff both nights is slated for 7:30 p.m.