PORTLAND, Ore. – A career night from senior guard Jordan Newt helped the Corban University men's basketball team grab its first Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) win of the season on Friday evening, as the Navy and Gold downed Warner Pacific University by an 84-72 score.
"Our guys were in the fight together for 40 minutes tonight," said head coach Taylor Kelly. "We hung our hat on the defensive end, got consistent stops and created opportunities for ourselves on offense. I love our guys and how hard they competed tonight."
The hometown team got off to a hot start, as WPU opened the battle on a 14-3 run to take a commanding early lead. Unfazed by the early deficit, the Navy and Gold battled back with a 21-3 run of its own, taking possession of the lead with just under five minutes left in the first half, and never looking back from there.
For the second-straight game, the Warriors shot above the 50 percent mark from the floor, ending Friday's victory with an impressive 52.6% clip from the field as a team. Newt was at the forefront of the victory, going 7-of-13—including 5-of-7 from downtown—en route to a new career-high in scoring.
Newt's 28 points are the most by a Warrior since January 11, 2020, when A.J. Hodges scored 29 points in a contest that was also against the Knights.
In just 20 minutes, Mateo Escheik notched 13 points to finish as Corban's second-highest scorer, and Taylor Anderson's nine points—all of which came from the three-ball—were also valuable in the impressive performance from the Navy and Gold back court.
The Warrior bench provided a significant boost, headlined by Denis Kirichenko's 11-point, seven-rebound effort in reserve. Psalm Maduakor (4-of-5 FG) chipped in eight points and five boards, while Talin Lewis made his presence felt with seven points and a trio of rebounds.
Warner Pacific was led by Nigel McKay (14 points, 5-of-7 FG) and Drew Magaoay (13 points, 5-of-10 FG), both of whom shined off the bench in the defeat.
It was a gritty, physical battle between the two squads throughout, and the Warriors are happy to get their first conference triumph under their belt at the end of a hard-fought 40 minutes.
Corban (6-4, 1-1 CCC) will be back in Portland tomorrow, facing off against Multnomah University at 5 p.m.
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