Doug Pfeiler

Corban will look to make history on Tuesday evening in the CCC men's basketball Tournament Championship game. (Photo Credit: Doug Pfeiler)

Men's Basketball 2/27/2017 3:44:00 PM Cascade Collegiate Conference Office

Warrior Men’s Hoops Ready to Make History in CCC Tournament Final

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – At least on paper, Tuesday night's men's basketball title game of the Cascade Conference Championships presented by U.S. Bank features the most improbable matchup in the tournament's history.

Live Stats l Live Video l Live Audio

Eighth-seeded Corban will visit fourth-seeded and 22nd-ranked Oregon Tech in Klamath Falls for a 7 p.m. tipoff with a spot in the NAIA Division II Championships at stake. A No. 8 seed had never previously advanced to the final, and the last eight tournament champions had also been regular-season champs.

That will change on Danny Miles Court, and the scenario is made even more remarkable by the context in which it has unfolded: During conference regular-season play, the top four teams in the standings combined to go 40-0 at home, but for the first time since 2008, both semifinals wins went to the road teams.

The Owls, vying for their seventh tourney title and first since 2012 under first-year head coach Justin Parnell, got theirs Saturday at third-seeded College of Idaho, 75-69. Senior wing Joel Yellow Owl dominated with 31 points in what was otherwise a defensive struggle that saw the teams shoot 36 and 37 percent. Yellow Owl's performance came on the heels of his 25-point showing in an 89-77 quarterfinal win over Southern Oregon, and his 20.3-point average is one of the main reasons OIT was able to finish tied for second in the regular season after being picked sixth in the CCC preseason poll.

The Warriors, who also operate under a first-year head coach in Austin Johnson, have been as dominant as they've been surprising through the first two rounds. After dropping seven of their final nine regular-season contests, they marched into Eugene and routed top-seeded and sixth-ranked Northwest Christian in the quarterfinals, 105-76. And in their 100-90 semifinal win at second-seeded and 13th-ranked Eastern Oregon, they went up by 21 just five minutes into the second half and were comfortably ahead the rest of the way behind junior point guard AJ Monterossi's 32-point outburst on 13-of-21 shooting.

To earn their fourth tournament championship and first in 15 years, the Warriors would have to put a dent in OIT's 17-0 home record.

A high-scoring affair should be expected. The Owls' per-game average of 89.2 points is the 12th-highest at the NAIA Div. II level, and the Warriors are right behind them at 88.2. OIT leads the all-time series, 55-21, and picked up a 102-75 win in the most recent matchup on Feb. 18 in Klamath Falls thanks to 55-percent shooting and Brandon Halter's game-high 25 points. Corban took the meeting in Salem, 90-80 on Dec. 10, by shooting 52 percent and getting 21 points from guard Chris Martin off the bench.

Martin leads the Warriors in scoring (14.4), complementing Monterossi's 13.5 points and 4.0 assists per game. Sophomore post Joel Johnson is the national leader in field-goal percentage (68.9), posting 12.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, but will have to contend inside with veteran big men Bryan Beard and Andrew Weber.

Next to Yellow Owl, OIT's backcourt features promising freshman point guard Mitchell Fink (10.7 points, 4.6 assists) and Halter (15.6 points), a senior shooting guard who is the CCC's leader in 3-point makes (101). The Owls have also gotten 72 combined 3-pointers from freshmen reserves Tyler Hieb and Seth Erickson, and they're No. 1 in the nation in defensive 3-point percentage (29.3).