SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University men's basketball team swept Warner Pacific University this weekend in Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) action picking up a 77-60 victory Saturday afternoon inside C.C. Perry Gymnasium.

With the win, Corban improves to 3-1 overall and a perfect 2-0 in CCC games. Meanwhile, Warner Pacific falls to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in conference contests.

"Tonight was a complete team effort from our team," said first-year head coach Taylor Kelly. "We are continuing to commit to the hard work and discipline of becoming a team that hangs their hat on the defensive side of the ball. Our guys did a great job of fighting for one another and celebrating one another. The fact that we get to compete is a blessing. I believe our guys are taking that blessing and playing with a ton of gratitude. We are looking forward to opening the conference season in our first home game on Tim Hills Court."

For the second game in a row, Kendall Moore led the Navy and Gold with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field that included a 5-for-9 clip from beyond the three-point line. On the weekend, Moore totaled 43 points (avg. 21.5 ppg) against the Knights as he led Corban to victory in both games.

Along with Moore, Taylor Anderson came off the bench to score 18 points with Mauricio Smith adding 13 of his own. On the boards, Isiah Quintero pulled down a game-high nine rebounds to go along with three assists each by Dirk Helaire II and Reece Van Lierop.

The game would begin with Corban jumping out to a four-point lead (6-2) on a Mauricio Smith bucket in the paint with just over 16 minutes left in the first half. Over the next two-plus minutes, Warner Pacific would score seven unanswered points taking a 9-6 lead. The Navy and Gold would then score five straight points capped by a three-pointer from Denis Kirichenko with 12:21 on the clock to take an 11-9 lead. After Warner Pacific tied the game at 11-all with 12 minutes left, Corban used a 7-0 run that included five straight from Anderson to take an 18-11 lead with just over nine minutes remaining. Warner Pacific battled back via a 10-3 run to tie the game at 21-21 on a free throw by Miles Brown with 6:07 on the clock. Following the free throw, Corban scored 12 unanswered points with Moore accounting for 10 of the Warriors' points during the run to take a 33-21 lead with 3:27 on the clock. Over the final three-plus minutes, Corban would see Warner Pacific battle back within four points (33-29) before closing the half on a 7-0 run to secure a 40-29 lead at intermission.

The second half would begin with Warner Pacific using a small 5-3 run to pull within nine points (43-34) on another Brown free throw with 17:05 left in the game. Once again, Corban would use a WPU free throw as a springboard to another run. This time, the visiting Warriors scored 11 straight points with Moore accounting for nine of the Navy and Gold's points during the run. With 14:34 left, Corban held a 20-point lead (54-34) and continued to hold a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game pushing its lead to as much as 22 points (76-54) on a Quintero two-pointer in the paint with 2:49 left. A free throw by Damian Ball with 92 seconds left would close out Corban's scoring, as Warner Pacific scored the game's final four points to give the Warriors the 77-60 victory to complete the weekend sweep in the Rose City.

Warner Pacific was led offensively by Kadeem Strickland with 14 points, while Miles Brown and Darius Traylor added 12 points each. On the boards, Christian Hodge pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Knights, while Javon Peterson handed out a game-high five assists for the home team.

As a team, Corban combined to shoot 31-for-72 (43.1%) from the field that included a 10-for-29 (34.5%) performance from beyond the three-point line. The Warriors went to the free throw line only 12 times, converting on five for a free throw percentage of 41.7% in the game. On the other hand, Warner Pacific was a combined 22-for-54 (40.7%) from the field, 9-for-21 (42.9%) from long distance, and 7-of-9 (77.8%) at the charity stripe.

Corban will make its long-awaited official 2021 home debut on Tuesday, March 23, when the Warriors take on CCC member Multnomah University in a non-conference game beginning at 7:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.

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