SALEM, Ore. – In a defensive showdown earlier this evening, the (RV) Corban University Men's Basketball team (7-3, 3-1) came out of top of gritty battle against the Lewis-Clark State College Warriors (5-5, 2-2), taking the early Cascade Collegiate Conference Warrior "crown" in a 70-57 double-digit victory for the Navy and Gold.
"Tonight was a great win for us, I'm really proud of our defensive efforts," Warriors' Head Coach Taylor Kelly said shortly after the conclusion of tonight's contest.
"We held a team to 30% shooting for an entire game, that is who we want to establish ourselves as and we took a step in the right direction. Darius, Mateo and Collin all did a great job rebounding for us tonight. I'm looking forward to seeing us have a great outing tomorrow against Walla Walla to send us into Christmas break," Kelly went on to share.
After the visiting Warriors quickly jumped out to a 9-6 lead, Coach Kelly pulled a complete roster flip on two separate occasions to reset the momentum for the home Warriors' offense, which worked wonders on their way to an 18-5 run that was highlighted by 15-straight Corban points.
Lewis-Clark was able to crawl back within striking distance in the final two minutes of the first half, mounting a 9-4 scoring differential to only trail by five points at the break. Corban junior guard Collin Warmouth hit a pullup baseline jumper as time expired to provide the Navy and Gold with the energy they needed, following their double-digit lead crumbling before the end of the first 20 minutes of action.
Corban senior forward Darius Henderson was the only student-athlete in double-digit scoring to open the contest, scoring 10 points and bring down eight rebounds in his 15 minutes of playing time to lead both squads in the two statistical categories. LC State guard Davian Brown dropped eight points to power the road team at the half.
The Navy and Gold extended their lead to double-digits once again to open the second half, scoring on a Henderson dunk followed by back-to-back layups from guards Masie Mohammadi and Taylor Anderson. LC State then called timeout to reset the pace of play, which allowed them to then chip away at their deficit over the next 10 minutes. With 8:25 remaining in the game, Lewis-Clark guard Silas Bennion connected on a pair of free throws to tie the game at 46-all, the first time since early in the first half.
Henderson and junior guard Collin Warmouth went to work over the final eight and a half minute for Warrior Nation, as the two traded layups and jumpers to provide enough distance to help the Navy and Gold pull away down the stretch, while LC State struggled to find their offensive identity once again.
In his most dominant season of his career up to this point of the season, Corban's Henderson led all student-athletes tonight in both points and rebounds once again on the year, ending his evening with 23 points and 15 boards. Warmouth added 19 points by going 7-for-8 from the field, tallying six rebounds along the way.
Brown led his team with 18 points and a pair of assists, hitting seven of his eight free throw attempts in the fouls he was able to draw. Meanwhile, Bennion added 12 points and hauled in seven rebounds in his point guard role. Coming off the bench, forward Anthony Peoples Jr. brought down a team-high eight rebounds.
One final conference contest sits between the Warriors and a cushy Christmas break, as Corban will host Walla Walla University (0-8, 0-4) tomorrow evening at 5pm PST.
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