SALEM, Ore. – As all teams in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) enter the final day of the regular season tomorrow, the RV Corban University Men's Basketball team (18-9, 14-7) have put themselves in a position to host a quarterfinal matchup after the odds swung so heavily against them, as the first step in securing a top four seed came to fruition tonight by defeating the Southern Oregon University Raiders (18-9, 14-7) at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center by a 71-68 margin.

"Tonight's result was an incredibly big win for us," Warriors' Head Coach Taylor Kelly shared shortly after his team was able to pull out a gutsy home victory behind the support of a huge crowd at Tim Hills Court.

"Glad to see our group come together and find a way to get it done against a good SOU team. Taylor and Darius made some big plays down the stretch to help us close out the game. We are looking forward to celebrating our seniors tomorrow as we close out our home conference season," Kelly continued.

Yet another heart-stopping game was in store for Warrior Nation between the Warriors and Raiders, as five of the last six games to be played at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center have been decided by a single possession, with multiple games going to an overtime period.

Tonight's contest was no different for these two feisty squads, as SOU and Corban went back-and-forth all night both on the court and in discourse, completing incredible plays and running both scoring droughts and streaks to their fulfillment while making sure the other team knew who the top dog was in that moment.

After the Warriors sped out to a double-digit lead in the first nine minutes of action, it had appeared Coach Kelly and his squad learned from their 72-62 loss to the Raiders earlier this season in Ashland, as a layup from senior forward James Carlson gave them a 22-11 lead with just over 11 minutes to play in the half.

The Navy and Gold would go on to hold that lead for the remainder of the opening period, not allowing Southern Oregon to any closer than six points at any point. A three-pointer from junior guard Reese Van Lierop with under five seconds remaining allowed the Warriors a nine-point lead at the break, a shot would eventually stand to be crucial in the home victory.

Corban senior forward Darius Henderson was the leading scorer at the half for the Warriors, outscoring all player with 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field. Meanwhile, SOU guard Atmar Mundu and forward Josh Meyer combined for 15 points in 30 minutes on the floor for the duo.

A 7-2 run by Corban to open the second half and take a 14-point lead was quickly erased by a Southern Oregon streak, as the Raiders utilized their ability to draw fouls and connect on their three-point attempts to score 11-straight points and force multiple substitutions and a timeout from Coach Kelly.

The next five minutes contained some of the hardest fought basketball that the local fans have experienced all season long, as each team took shot-for-shot to keep the margin in favor of the Warriors ever so slightly, but Southern Oregon never went away for good in a game in which a down-to-the-wire feeling was written all over it.

With 3:05 remaining on the clock, Mundu hit a step back three-ball to put his team up by one for the first time today, but Henderson and junior guard Taylor Anderson quickly erased the Raiders comeback hopes with back-to-back layups, Henderson's of which was through contact to earn an additional point via the free throw line as well.

However, SOU still wasn't completed out of this contest, as Mundu hit yet another shot from beyond the arc to pull his team within a bucket, now needing to test the Warriors' ability to hit free throws.

Enter Van Lierop and his team leading 87% free throw percentage, as the Navy and Gold were able to get the ball into his hands every opportunity they had, and he rewarded them with a 4-for-4 night down the stretch to almost ice this contest completely.

With a six-point lead and no need to engage with the offense in a 6.1 game clock scenario, guard Tez Allen somehow drew a foul when shooting a three-pointer with the time expiring, causing the officials to take things into their own hands and put 0.7 seconds left on the scoreboard.

While Allen was able to hit all three attempts from the charity stripe, Coach Kelly drew up the perfect play to allow Anderson enough coverage to collect the inbounds pass and dribble out what little time was left on the clock, sinking the Raider fans' hopes of a comeback bid.

Henderson was masterful in his senior weekend debut, logging a 20-point and 12-rebound double-double to lead the Warriors to victory, while Anderson added 14 points and a game-high five assists. Van Lierop also tied his season-high point total with 11 this evening, while junior guard Collin Warmouth supplied nine points and seven boards.

Mundu was on fire for the Raiders down the stretch, finishing with a game-high 23 points and snagging three steals in the process. Guard Will Graves tallied 14 points and hauled in six rebounds, while Meyer was the lone remaining Southern Oregon student-athlete in double-digits with 10 points and a quartet of both rebounds and assists.

In addition to their multiple playoff scenarios to be played out tomorrow, the Warriors will be honoring four senior student-athletes in their final home regular season contest, with tip off scheduled shortly after around 5pm PST against the Oregon Tech Owls (14-13, 11-10). Tickets can be purchased ahead of time by clicking HERE and selecting the game of choice.

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