LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Corban University men's basketball team faced the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers on Friday evening in La Grande, Ore., hoping to continue to build upon an impressive season for the program. The Navy and Gold continued their torrid first season under first-year head coach Taylor Kelly with a 95-88 victory over EOU. 

"Tonight was about finding a way to win in a tough place to play," said Kelly. "EOU is really good on their home floor, and presented lots of problems for us defensively. We shot the ball exceptionally well tonight, which helped us get over the hump. I am looking forward to seeing how our guys respond tomorrow to see if we can guard them better."

Corban had an otherworldly offensive performance against the Mounties, as they shot an outstanding 28-for-51 (54.9%) from the field. In addition, they shot even better from long range, as they sank 14 of their 19 attempts from downtown. That clip is good for a 73.7% conversion rate.

Jordan Newt was the team's high scorer, as he put up 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting. The sharpshooter knocked down 6-of-9 from beyond the arc in the game. He contributed eight rebounds and three assists to the Corban effort as well.

Kendall Moore, Josiah Roth, and Mateo Escheik were the other three Warriors to score double-digit points in the battle. They scored 17, 15, and 12 points, respectively. Collectively, the three of them went 5-of-5 from three-point land.

Moore added four dimes for the Navy and Gold, as he was responsible for a quarter of the team's assists on the night. He went to the line for eight free throws, and made seven of those tries.

Roth was strong off the bench, as he gobbled up three rebounds to help the squad to a total of 31 boards. He took a total of 10 free throws in the game, sinking eight of them.

Escheik contributed three rebounds and two dimes to the Warrior effort, and knocked down both of his three-point attempts.

The Warriors went 25-of-31 from the free-throw line, making 14 more charity-stripe shots than the Mountaineers, who made just 11-of-15.

Eastern Oregon was led by Max McCullough, who had 20 points, six rebounds, and five dimes in the bout. 

The Mounties had four other players with more than 10 points, but just six total scorers in the loss. Paul Pennington (18), Zane Wright (15), Brandon Porter (15), and Justin Jeske (12) were the additional double-digit scorers for EOU.

Corban (12-3, 7-2 CCC) has had a remarkable season in 2020-21, as they have continued to win throughout. They will be battling Eastern Oregon once again on Saturday in La Grande, before finishing their season in Portland against Multnomah on May 2 and 3.

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