SALEM, Ore. – Nothing has come easy for the Corban University men's basketball team in the early portion of its 2021-22 Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) schedule, with narrow margins determining nearly all of its conference battles to this point of the season. Having come short in four of those hard-fought battles, the squad got a rejuvenating result on Friday evening, edging Eastern Oregon University in another nail-biting contest, 76-70.

"That was a big win for our program," said head coach Taylor Kelly. "Eastern Oregon is a good program that can really score. I love the way we came together tonight to find a way down the stretch. Our guys did a great job of sharing the ball with 18 assists for the game."

The lead never exceeded eight in the thrilling battle, as the two in-state rivals went to the locker room at halftime in a 39-point deadlock. The lead changed hands seven times in a back-and-forth second half, but the Warriors pulled away late to grab the holiday victory.

No bucket was bigger than Mauricio Smith's three-pointer with just over four minutes left to play, which broke a 67-67 tie and electrified the Warrior bench. Just moments later, veteran guard Jordan Newt followed that up with a triple of his own, giving Corban some valuable breathing room in the contest's final minutes.

"Mauricio was a monster on the glass down the stretch," Kelly said about his senior big man.

Smith ended the night with 10 total points and a team-best seven rebounds, while also dishing out a team-leading four assists in an impressive all-around effort. Darius Henderson led the squad in scoring with 14 points (five rebounds), while Newt finished just behind him with 13 points, three boards, and three steals.

Serving as an invaluable presence off the bench, Denis Kirichenko rounding out Corban's double-digit scorers with an energizing effort (10 points, 5-of-11 FG, three rebounds) in reserve.

For EOU, Phillip Malatare delivered a showstopping performance in the defeat, scoring 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting, while also passing out four assists. Xavier Lovelace was the other top Mountie performer, registering the only double-double (12 points, 14 rebounds) of the night.

With the win, Corban (7-7, 2-4 CCC) halts a three-game losing skid, and will now set its sights on No. 18-ranked College of Idaho, which comes to town tomorrow for a New Year's Day showdown on Tim Hills Court. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.