SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University Men's Basketball team (4-2, 1-1) couldn't overcome the highly efficient shooting night of the Warner Pacific University Knights (4-2, 2-0), who shot lights out on the road to hand the Warriors their first loss on Tim Hills Court this season, with 86-81 being the final score.

"Tonight was a tough loss for us," began Corban Head Coach Taylor Kelly. "Warner pacific shot the ball incredibly and we could not figure out how to string stops together all night long. Kudos to them and their coaching staff, they were well prepared. Great thing about playing in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) is that we get to lace them back up tomorrow. I'm looking forward to seeing our guys respond."

Both the Warriors and Knights entered tonight's contest undefeated in CCC play, with each of them winning their midweek rivalry contests last week against Bushnell University and Multnomah University, respectively. Each team has had their fair share of non-conference drama to begin their 2022-23 season, as the two squads entertained some interesting matchups to prepare themselves for one of the most competitive seasons of CCC Men's Basketball in years.

The Knights jumped out to win the opening possession and score on their very first opportunity, a sure sign of what was later to come in the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center that evening. Despite an early six-point deficit, the Warriors were able to hang tight with Warner Pacific, forcing a 23-all tie with six minutes remaining in the opening half.

Back-to-back three-pointers from senior guard Taylor Anderson and senior forward Darius Henderson provided the Navy and Gold with their own six-point advantage and were able to roll that lead into the halftime break, with the score sitting at 42-36 in favor of the Warriors.

Henderson led the way for all players in the first half in scoring, dropping a heavy handed 17 points and hitting seven of his nine field goal attempts for the period. Anderson, senior guard Masie Mohammadi, and junior guard Collin Warmouth all fell right behind Henderson with six points apiece.

Knights' guards Dakota Reber and Thomas Miles were each being fed the hot hand for Warner Pacific, as the duo combined for 21 points through the first 20 minutes of action, while Reber also garnered five rebounds.

WPU came absolutely unhinged from the field throughout the second half, as the Knights shot over 56% from beyond the three-point arc on 9-for-16 shooting, as well as 59.4% from the field in general. Warner Pacific began to stretch their lead around the 12-minute mark of the half, as consecutive three-point baskets forced Coach Kelly into calling a timeout.

The Warriors were able to pull within a basket on multiple occasions, but the Knights continued to march down the court and hit shot after shot, as another dagger three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining would ultimately leave the Navy and Gold unable to keep pace with Warner Pacific's extremely efficient shooting night.

Henderson finished the evening with a game-high 27 points, which is also a career-high for the Pasadena native while donning the Navy and Gold uniforms. Anderson finished with 15 points and four assists, while Warmouth had his most effective night as a Warriors thus far with 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three ridiculous blocks in the paint.

Warner Pacific's Miles etched 24 points to lead the Knights, as four of five WPU starters scored 17 points or more, and the entire starting lineup was responsible for all but four of the Knights' points scored tonight. Reber completed a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his second consecutive twin-bill.

Corban Men's Basketball closes out the weekend by hosting Multnomah (5-2, 1-1) tomorrow night at 5pm PST, looking to capitalize on their last home game until after the middle of December.

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