LEWISTON, Idaho – Two of the final three undefeated Cascade Collegiate Conference programs went head-to-head tonight on the campus of Lewis-Clark State College, where the Corban University Men's Basketball team was handed their first loss in conference play and had a three-game winning streak snapped by LC State in a 78-49 affair.
In typical Corban-LC State fashion, the opening half was filled with high octane offense that resulted in long scoring runs and the occasional cold streak amid porous shot opportunities, with the hometown Warriors (6-4, 4-0) converting early while the visiting Warriors (5-3, 3-1) struggled to find their footing both offensively and defensively in the battle of the conference leaders.
There were a few moments where it had appeared Corban had snapped back into their usual defensively minded gameplan with consistent offense, but a huge lead for Lewis-Clark State was hardly cut into by the halftime break, as the home team led 38-27 with twenty minutes left to be played at the P1FCU Activity Center.
For the fourth-consecutive game to start conference play, the Navy and Gold exploded out of the locker room and kicked off the second half with a clear mission, as they cut the double-digit lead to five points in a matter of minutes thanks to what seemed like a complete mindset shift on both ends of the court.
However, determined to not lose their third-consecutive matchup to Corban, LC State's offense caught fire from beyond the arc to stretch their advantage to the highest of the evening at 18 points and not showing any signs of slowing down. A 22-5 run by Lewis-Clark was extremely damaging for the Navy and Gold in their attempted comeback bid, which couldn't recover the momentum once gained from the second half opening possession.
A similar set of issues occurred in Corban's most recent loss when they fell 75-57 to Carroll College in the non-conference portion of their schedule, where a long scoreless spell caused a double-digit deficit that they struggled to fight back out of and thus resulted in another lopsided road defeat.
Junior guard Aundree Polk was the only member of the Navy and Gold in double-digit scoring tonight, dropping 12 points but was one of many Corban student-athletes to struggle on the court. Nine points and three rebounds from senior guard Taylor Anderson was one of the final shining moments for the road team.
A blazing 50% field goal percentage resulted in the statement victory for LC State, led by forward Jaedon Bradley's double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. Guard John Lustig matched Bradley with 17 more points, while fellow guard Davian Brown chipped in ten points and five boards.
The final conference game to be played for Corban men's basketball will be a late one tomorrow night in College Place, Washington, where Walla Walla University (3-5, 2-2) will host a 9pm tip time.
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