SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University Men's Basketball ream rode a strong effort on both ends of the floor to a victory over the visiting Northwest University Eagles. The Warriors were paced in their win tonight by Taylor Anderson's 31-point demonstration, en route to their 72-68 victory.

"That game was one where we had to reach deep to pull out a victory." Head coach Taylor Kelly said. "Taylor Anderson and Kendall Moore were an incredible 1-2 combo all night long. Psalm Maduakor had some monster rebounds for us down the stretch." Kelly added, "I believe we captured a bit of our defensive identity in that second half. I am really proud of our fight tonight when adversity and uncontrollable situations came about."

In the first half, the Warriors had been off to a slow start, but a momentum shifting steal by Talin Lewis changed the trajectory of the game for the Navy and Gold. After trailing 9-18, the mighty Warriors made an incredible comeback fueled by Jordan Newt (7), Denis Kirichenko (8), and Anderson (10).

Anderson was a menace in center court, forcing turnovers, and often snatching the ball away from the Eagle guards. He notched a team-high 10 points in the first half.  Additionally, Kirichenko made his third start of the season and immediately made his presence felt. A consistent threat under the basket, Kirichenko recorded eight points and one rebound in the first half.

The Eagles did not give up easily, despite Corban's mid-half run. Northwest battled back sending the Warriors headed into halftime trailing by four, 35-31.

After scoring five points in the first 55 seconds of play in the second half, the Eagles forced an early Warrior timeout, as the Navy and Gold grappled for momentum. It took every remaining minute of play for the Warriors to secure their narrow victory.

The Warriors sped things up to take back the momentum, scoring 12 points on fast breaks to Northwest's four, and inking 14 points off of forced turnovers.

It was Anderson who led the Warriors offensively in the second period. The guard recorded 21 more points, and tallied five rebounds. His 31-point showing was a career-high for the Warrior sophomore.  

Coming off the bench, Moore contributed 15 points, four rebounds, three assists, and one steal in his twenty-one minutes on the court. Kirichenko rounded out the night with 12 points, and Newt with 10.

Corban shot 45.2% from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc as a team.

The Warriors (8-8, 3-5 CCC) return to their home court tomorrow to battle The Evergreen State College (2-10, 2-6 CCC) at 3 p.m.