CALDWELL, Idaho – The Corban University men's basketball led wire-to-wire in a ten-point victory over Rocky Mountain College (Mont.) on Saturday. The Warriors started the contest on a 12-3 run and maintained the lead throughout, eventually defeating Rocky Mountain by a 77-67 final score in the squad's second game of the Taco Bell Shootout.

"Today was a great team win," said head coach Taylor Kelly. "Our guys stuck together and fought for 40 minutes. Our bench was huge in fueling our runs and helping stop theirs. I'm proud of our basketball family and the strides we took this weekend as a group. Looking forward to continuing to build moving forward."

The Warriors shot 53.4% from the field in the contest, while also burying 10-of-20 three pointers in Saturday's victory. Corban also came up big in the paint throughout the game, outscoring the Bears 38-26 respectively, and out-rebounding Rocky Mountain by 11.

Dallas, Tex. native Mateo Escheik paced the offensive attack for Corban with a career-high 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He also tallied six rebounds, which was tied for the team lead in the contest.

Three other Warriors chipped in double-digit scoring afternoons for the Navy and Gold. Kendall Moore (16 PTS, 3-of-4 3PT), Mauricio Smith (11 PTS, 5-of-7 FG) and Psalm Maduakor (10 PTS, 6 REB) all delivered big buckets in the second game of the season. The Warrior bench shined in the contest with a combined 20 points and 19 boards.

For the Bears, Jesse Owens (16 PTS, 7-of-10 FG) and Abdul Bah (12 PTS, 5-of-10 FG) finished in double figures in the defeat, while Nick Hart delivered a double-double (10 PTS, 10 REB).

It was a stellar weekend to start the 2021-22 campaign for the Navy and Gold as they left the Taco Bell Shootout undefeated after the first two contests of the campaign.

The Warriors (2-0) will face off with Willamette University in an exhibition contest at home on November 4, with the tip scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.