LA GRANDE, Ore. – For the second consecutive night, two of the top teams in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) battled it out with intense conference standing repercussions on the line, which resulted in an 81-58 loss for the RV Corban University Men's Basketball team (17-9, 13-7), who dropped their second road contest of the weekend, this time to the RV Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers (17-9, 14-6). Both teams were vying for the second-place position in the CCC, which now rests in the hands of a two-way tie with EOU and Warner Pacific University.
"Was a tough road trip overall. We didn't play well and let a big opportunity slip through our hands," Corban Head Coach Taylor Kelly said earlier this evening. "We have a great group of guys; I'm looking forward to seeing how we respond in the last homestand of the year."
A sluggish start for the Navy and Gold allowed the Mounties to jump out to a 13-4 lead at the under-14 media timeout. Following the stoppage, the Warriors flipped the script and went on their own 13-4 run to make it 17-13 EOU at the halfway mark of the first half. A back-and-forth affair broke out between the two squads in the final ten minutes, leading to Eastern Oregon taking a six-point lead into the half, 31-25.
Eastern Oregon shot 50% from the field on 13-for-26 attempts, while the Warriors were 36% on the night with 12-for-33 shooting. One area of struggle for the Warriors in the first half came from behind the three-point arc, where the Corban was scoreless from at the half. The Warriors made up for their shooting woes by forcing nine turnovers, four of which led to transition opportunities for Corban.
The Warriors were led by senior forward Mateo Escheik who had eight points at the half. Junior guard Andrew Stafford provided a spark off the bench for Corban with five points of his own. Eastern Oregon was led by guard Justin Jeske who had eight points and was matched by guard Emmit Taylor's eight points as well.
The Mounties continued their hot shooting into the start of the second half. Going into the under-14 media timeout, the Mounties were on a 14-4 run, pushing the lead to 45-29. Not only was the hot shooting by Eastern Oregon a problem for Corban, but an injury to a key starter on the Warriors' starting lineup in the first half and left them looking for answers in the second half.
The Mounties continued their offensive attack throughout the second half, shooting 60% on 14-for-23 shooting. Eastern Oregon also found their way to the charity stripe 21 different times, converting on 18 of those attempts.
Escheik and Stafford were the only Warriors to reach double digits with 15 and 12, respectively. Junior guard Taylor Anderson provided nine points alongside a trio of rebounds and assists on the night. Senior forward James Carlson stepped up to provide rebounding and offense for the Warriors with six points, seven rebounds, and three blocks.
The Mounties saw six different players in double digits, led by Malatare's game-high 15 points and six rebounds. Taylor, guards Andre Huddleston and Malachai Afework, alongside forward Justin Jeske each tallied 10 points, while guard Adam Orr tacked on 11 points off the bench.
Corban Men's Basketball wraps up their conference slate on Friday night against Southern Oregon University (18-8, 14-6), looking to even up the season series against the Raiders and climbing back into the top four in the conference standings for a possible host opportunity in the CCC Playoffs. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time by clicking HERE and selecting the game of choice.
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