COSTA MESA, Calif. – After staving off a cold start in the first half, the Corban University Men's Basketball team (4-0, 1-0) managed to ride some hot streaks down the stretch to continue their comfortable streak in the win column to begin the season, as they defeated the La Sierra University Golden Eagles (0-6, 0-0) in the first game of the Vanguard Thanksgiving Tourney, hosted by Vanguard University at the Orange Coast College Gym.
"It was a good win for us tonight. It wasn't pretty and wasn't one of our better performances, but in the end we were able to put together enough stops and baskets to pull away from La Sierra," Warriors Head Coach Taylor Kelly said later this evening.
"Give them credit, they did a good job of making things difficult on us and we did a poor job of adjusting to some of those coverages. But we eventually did in the second half and were able to create some separation. Darius and Taylor did a great job of making plays down the stretch to help us secure the win," Kelly went on to say.
The Warriors simultaneously began the game hot and ice cold, as five quick points from junior guard Collin Warmouth quickly led to a 17-4 run for the Golden Eagles, as Corban fell cold from the field and struggled to consistently set up their offense.
The momentum swung back in favor of the Warriors when they were able to find their offensive stride, scoring 10-straight points to force La Sierra into a timeout, taking a two-point lead with under nine minutes to play in the opening half.
Swing the pendulum once again, as Corban repeatedly found themselves in both foul trouble and committing turnovers, which the Golden Eagles scored 13 points off in the first half to lead the Warriors 39-36 at the break. The Navy and Gold led in nearly every statistical category, yet the scoreboard still favored La Sierra and their eleven first half free throw attempts compared to Corban's five.
Senior forward Darius Henderson led the Warriors with nine points and seven rebounds at the half, while the Eagles had two players at nine points in guards Brandhon Thomas and Uriel Lejtman.
Corban was able to find another streak of scoring to open the half, scoring an 11-2 run and taking a six-point lead with five minutes of play passing. Junior guard Andrew Stafford hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Warriors the lead once again.
While the Golden Eagles were able to scratch and claw their way back into this contest, the Warriors were finally able to extend to a double-digit lead with four minutes remaining in the half. A majority of Corban's mistake up until this point in the game had come from offensive fouls and missed field goals, but they had begun to learn from their errors to run away with this game late in the contest.
A couple of additional easy buckets for Henderson wrapped up the final moments of the contest, pushing the Warriors to 4-0 on the season and setting up a potential battle of undefeated programs tomorrow afternoon, pending the outcome of the second game at the Vanguard Thanksgiving Tourney later tonight.
The free-throw shooting left the Navy and Gold disappointed, but 50% from the field and above 40% from beyond the three-point arc gave them plenty to smile about. They also cleaned up the offensive possessions in the second half to finish with 17 forced turnovers compared to the Warriors' 10 miscues. Corban also scored eight more points in the paint to continue forcing the issue to their big men.
Henderson finished the contest with a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds, going 6-for-10 from the field and connecting on both of his three-point attempts. Junior guard Taylor Anderson played both matchmaker and playmaker this afternoon, scoring 17 points and dishing out a season-high seven assists, falling only one dime shy of his career-best mark of eight.
Stafford ignited in the second half to allow Corban to stretch the court and find open shooters, as he finished with a season-best 14 points, his most in a Corban uniform since joining the program this year.
La Sierra finished 46%/36%/81% in their field goal, three-pointers, and free-throw percentages, yet the hot-handed Corban offense was too much to keep pace with, as the Golden Eagles were unable to find the win column today for the first time in the 2022-23 season.
Golden Eagles' Thomas sealed off the night with 19 points and a pair of rebounds, but most of his success was shown in his ability to draw offensive charges on the defensive end. Lejtman finish with 13 points after scoring just four points in the second half, while guard D'Lano Beckles stepped up with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the only other double-double of the evening.
Corban Men's Basketball continues with the Vanguard Thanksgiving Tourney tomorrow afternoon, as they will face the (RV) Pioneers of the University of Antelope Valley (4-0, 0-0) at 1pm PST back at the OCC Gym.
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