SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University men's basketball team welcomed Southern Oregon University to a packed house at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center in Wednesday evening's Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Quarterfinal, presented by U.S. Bank. In a game where the lead switched hands seven times, the Raiders edged the Warriors by a 67-65 final score to advance to the conference semifinals.
"This one hurts a lot because it's the last time we get to compete with our seniors," head coach Taylor Kelly said afterwards. "I am so proud of those young men and I know that God is going to do amazing things through them. I wanted nothing more than to finish this game off and keep this journey going, but unfortunately, we fell short."
Intensity filled the gym from the opening tip with the Warriors knocking down their first three shots and stifling Southern on the defensive end to jump out to a 6-0 lead in just over two minutes, forcing an early Raider timeout.
From there the squads traded buckets early in the first half, as the score was within five for a significant portion of the first ten minutes of play. It was the Warrior defense that stood strong at the midway point of half number one. The Warriors forced five straight Southern misses and got some timely buckets to extend their lead to 17-12 with seven minutes to play in the initial stanza.
That score would hold until the five-minute mark, when the Raiders would go on a 9-0 run to claw back, holding the Warriors scoreless for nearly four minutes of game time during that span.
Helping Corban grab some momentum before the half, Kendall Moore knocked down an impressive layup and drew the foul for a three-point-play to cut the deficit to two. On the next possession, Talin Lewis snagged a huge offensive rebound and hit Jordan Newt in rhythm behind the arc to give the Warriors a 25-23 lead.
The Raiders would add a bucket with 45 seconds to play to knot the score a 25 all. Corban would then miss the front end of a 1-and-1 with 6.4 seconds left to give the Raiders one final possession. The Raiders Atmar Mundu drew a foul on a three-point shot with less than a second on the clock, and he hit all three free throws to give SOU a 28-25 halftime lead.
It was the third-lowest first half output by the Warriors on the season, but the defense stood their ground to SOU to a 26.7% clip from the field in the first half to keep the contest close.
The Raiders would start the second half with a quick 10-2 run to extend their advantage to 38-27, the largest lead of the game for either side, and force a Warrior timeout with 17:30 to play.
Corban would finally land a bucket on a Psalm Maduakor jumper, but the Raiders answered immediately with a three pointer to push the score to 41-29.
With the offense struggling, the Warriors finally received a spark with back-to-back-to-back buckets in the paint by Maduakor, Moore, and Taylor Anderson to cut the deficit to six and reignite the large crowd on hand.
Following an SOU timeout, the Warrior defense would force a turnover and land another layup to further cut into the Southern lead. The momentum would stay with the Navy and Gold as Talin Lewis jumped a pass and broke away for an emphatic dunk, pulling the Warriors within just two.
The Raiders would cling to their lead with two huge baskets by Josh Meyer, making the score 45-41 in favor of the visitor.
With just under ten minutes to play, Corban sparkplug Moore was fouled on a three pointer, and calmly hit all three shots to cut the Warrior deficit to one. Southern would add 1-of-2 free throws on their next possession, but a stellar offensive play set up Darius Henderson in the paint for a huge slam to tie the game at 46, bringing the Navy and Gold all the way back from the 12-point deficit.
On the next possession, Henderson would line up and drill a shot from deep to give Corban their first second half lead at 49-46, stoking the flames of the Warrior crowd.
With the intensity rising on both sides, the two squads traded punches for the next several minutes, with Corban eventually clinging to a 54-52 lead with six minutes to play.
The Raiders would snag the lead back on a Josh Meyer triple, and the score would hold in favor of SOU at 55-54 until a Henderson layup, followed by an Anderson fast-break bucket gave the Warriors momentum and the lead at 58-55 with 3:45 to play.
As is often the case when Corban and SOU match up, the final three minutes of play loomed large over deciding the eventual winner. It was the Raiders who punched first with two big baskets from Tez Allen, giving Southern a 61-58 lead on what was already the seventh lead change of the contest.
Following a Corban timeout, Anderson went straight to the rim and landed a contested shot to cut the deficit to one. Another clutch bucket from Allen would push the Southern advantage to three (63-60) with less than 45 seconds to play. A Corban turnover would give possession back to SOU, and yet another Allen bucket pushed the lead to five.
Corban would get a quick basket from Jordan Newt and take a timeout with 10.1 seconds. The Raiders were able to inbound cleanly and Atmar Mundu would sink two clutch free throws to seal the victory for Southern Oregon. Corban added a Newt bucket at the buzzer, but the Raiders still led 67-65 when the final horn sounded.
Four Warriors reached double figures, with the senior Newt (14 PTS, 4 REB) leading the squad. Henderson chipped in 13 points and seven boards off the bench, Moore ended the night with 12 points and a trio of rebounds, and Anderson added 10 points and three boards.
For SOU, a team-high 18 points from Tez Allen led the way, with Josh Meyer (16 PTS, 13 REB, 5 AST) and Atmar Mundu (16 PTS, 5 REB) chipping in to carry the Raiders to the CCC semifinals.
As has become the norm for the two in-state rivals, Wednesday evening's playoff battle between the Raiders and Warriors was as close as they come.
The heartbreaking loss ends the season for the Navy and Gold, which finishes the campaign with a record of 19-12.
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