PORTLAND, Ore. – The Achilles heel of the Corban University Men's Basketball team (13-6, 9-4) thus far this season has been team's that can consistently shoot the ball well through tough defense, which roared its ugly head once again this evening on the road against Warner Pacific University (13-6, 10-4), a 75-68 final score game in which the Knights started the evening hitting more than 80% of their shots and were able to close out down the stretch against the Warriors to take the season series from Corban.

Warner Pacific kicked off the contest the exact same way they began their Warriors and Knights first CCC contest earlier this season, hitting virtually every shot with an 87.5% shooting clip at the first media timeout, while the Navy and Gold struggled to convert on their offensive end of the floor. The Warriors' defense was doing its job on a consistent basis up and down the court, but nothing could stop the hot-handed Knights on their home floor thus far.

The Warriors kicked up the throttle on the offensive and defensive ends after the Knights began to cool off from their incredibly hot start, pulling to within a possession with less than 10 minutes to play in the opening half. However, the Knights consistency proved to be too much to handle in the first 20 minutes, as they led by nine points with a 46-37 score at the halftime break.

Senior guard Masie Mohammadi splashed a trio of three-pointers in the first half to tie senior forward Darius Henderson in points at nine apiece, with Henderson earning four rebounds as well. The Knights had three student-athletes in double figure scoring at the break, as guards Dakota Reber, Isaac Etter, and Thomas Miles were a combined 6-for-10 from beyond the three-point arc and 13-for-19 from the field in total.

Etter and Warriors' senior guard Mateo Escheik exchanged three-pointers to open the second half, leading to a fast and energetic spurt of offense for Corban that led to transition baskets on their end of the floor. Corban continued to chip away bit by bit at the Warner Pac lead, as a layup from Henderson as the shot clock was expiring gave them a 53-50 deficit with 14 minutes remaining.

A minute and a half later, junior guard Collin Warmouth put the Warriors ahead for the first time this evening, converting on a layup through contact to earn himself a bucket and a trip to the charity stripe. Following the media timeout, Warmouth failed to connect on his free throw attempt to keep the newly acquire lead at 54-53 in enemy territory.

The Knights woke up from their second half cold spurt to regain their lead at 59-56, leading to a called timeout from Coach Kelly. What was once an 85% shooting clip had weakened to 56% for Warner Pac, yet that didn't harbor the Knights from keeping their slight lead over the Warriors.

Corban continued to put up great shot attempts in their efforts to lessen the shortfalls, but they kept coming up just short offensively. Meanwhile, Warner Pacific was also struggling in their offensive gameplan, but kept finding exactly what they needed to stay just far enough away from the Warriors retaking the lead.

Knights' Miles took over offensively for the Portland squad, driving to the basket and hitting deep three-pointers to nullify each Warrior comeback attempt down the stretch. With 1:19 left in the contest, Corban trailed 71-66, needing to find a few more defensive stops to prevent Warner Pacific from converting while also finding a spark of hope on the offensive glass.

In the end, the Knights converted on their free throw attempts down the stretch, while the Warriors grew cold from the floor at the wrong time, failing to score when it mattered most. Warner Pac took the contest 75-68 on their home court, taking the conference series over the Warriors.

Despite shooting a respectable 41% from the floor, Corban just couldn't find a way to stop the constant barrage of Warner Pacific shots, leading to the home team shooting a more realistic 53% for the contest. The Navy and Gold even won the turnover margin at 15-9, but the hotter offense won this evening's matchup.

Henderson earned his third-straight double-double tonight, scoring 19 points and collecting 11 rebounds with three steals and an assist. Warmouth dropped a respectable 13 points and nabbing a pair of steals as well, while Escheik concluded his evening with 11 points and seven boards.

The incredibly hot shooting trio of Etter, Miles, and Reber combined for 53 of the 75 total team points for the Knights, scoring 20, 19 and 14 points, respectively. Forward Maxwell Moses added 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench to keep Warner Pacific alive in the paint.

The Warriors will return to their home court early this upcoming week with their I-5 rivals heading to Tim Hills Court, as Corban will welcome the Bushnell University Beacons (7-12, 5-8) at 5pm PST next Tuesday, January 24th.

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