EUGENE, Ore. – The Corban University men's basketball team took undefeated Carroll College—the fifth-ranked team in the NAIA—down to the wire on Saturday afternoon, with a gritty battle coming down to the final seconds inside the Morse Center on the campus of Bushnell University. The Fighting Saints would end up holding onto a 53-50 victory, as Corban splits its weekend series at the Beacon Classic.

Both offenses struggled to get going early on, as the first field goal of the game didn't come until three minutes and 10 seconds into the first half. As it was, the Navy and Gold held the high-powered Saints offense—which entered today's game with the fourth-most points in the NAIA as a team—without a field goal for over five minutes (5:13).

The defenses would continue to take center stage in the low-scoring first half, as Carroll claimed a narrow two-point advantage (24-22) at the midway point of Saturday afternoon's contest.

As time wound down, the resilient Warriors matched the Saints stride-for-stride in a tooth-and-nail second period. During the final 10 minutes of the contest, the lead never stretched to greater than three on either side, shaping up for a thrilling finish.

With 13 seconds left and a one-point Carroll lead, the Saints' Shamrock Campbell drew a foul and sank both of his shots from the courtesy stripe, giving his team a three-point advantage with just seconds left on the clock.

Jordan Newt—who has made a name a number of big-time shots in his time as a Warrior—fired off a difficult three-pointer as time expired, fading away with a hand in his face. The shot ricocheted off the backboard and clanked in and out of the rim, just narrowly missing out on sending the two teams to overtime.

Win the win, Carroll remains undefeated on the 2021 campaign, moving to a perfect 10-0 to start the season.

Jovan Sljivancanin (15 points, 11 rebounds) led the charge for the Saints with a double-double, while Brendan Temple (13 points, seven rebounds) also made a significant contribution in the triumph.

For Corban, Kendall Moore finished in double figures for the second-consecutive contest, leading the team with 11 points, while also adding five boards.

Denis Kirichenko and Darvelle Wyatt each registered seven points, while Mateo Escheik (six points, six rebounds) and Taylor Anderson (six points, four rebounds) also turned in key minutes for Kelly and company.

Of note, the Warriors held Carroll to just one three-pointer on the afternoon (1-of-16 3PT), marking the squad's lowest clip (6.3%) from downtown for the season. 

The Warriors (4-2) will make their long-awaited return to the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center next week, hosting three games inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.

Corban will begin its Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) regimen on Tuesday evening, when it hosts Interstate-5 rival Bushnell University at 7:30 p.m.

The Navy and Gold will then welcome a trio of Northwest squads to Tim Hills Court for the Corban Classic on Friday and Saturday.