LEWISTON, Idaho – With a 68-58 victory this evening in Lewiston, Idaho, the Corban University Men's Basketball team (17-7, 13-5) earned themselves the second overall spot in the Cascade Collegiate Conference standings by downing Lewis-Clark State College (12-12, 9-9) and earning a season sweep of the Warriors.
"So proud of our brotherhood tonight," Warriors' Head Coach Taylor Kelly said shortly after his team's victory at the P1FCU Activity Center. "Our guys have committed to each other and to the details of the game, and it's awesome to see it come to fruition. We played stifling defense in the second half and rebounded the ball extremely well. Love this group and excited to continue this journey with them."
Both Warrior squads went shot-for-shot to kick off this contest, neither team able to gain more than a four-point lead as they battled for either a series split, or a series win for Corban. Lewis-Clark State was able to eke out to five-point lead with under ten minutes to play in the first half, but a wide-open three-pointer from junior guard Collin Warmouth cut the lead back to a single possession and forced a timeout from the hometown squad.
LC State kept pushing ahead over the back half of the first period, but the Navy and Gold refused to go down easily, eventually flipping the lead with less than five minutes remaining and leading by as many as four points with a minute to play. The road Warriors eventually settled for a 34-32 lead at the break, after a last ditch effort shot fell just short.
Senior forward Darius Henderson led the way for Corban at the break, scoring nine first half points and bringing down a trio of rebounds, with seven other student-athletes donning the Navy and Gold scoring points in the opening half. Lewis-Clark State guard Davian Brown was all over the court for the hometown team, scoring 13 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting.
Corban was able to find some offensive consistency over the first few possessions of the second half, as LC State forced themselves into a difficult hole by committing unnecessary fouls, putting the Navy and Gold at the free throw line, and allowing open lanes. The visitors stretched their lead to double digits at 44-34, jumping out to a 10-2 run to open the half.
Slowly but surely, the Navy and Gold stretched their lead out over Lewis-Clark State on the road, as the fouls and shots kept flying on both sides, but Corban was making the most of their opportunities and led by 13 points at 56-43 with under eight minutes to play.
Try as LC State might, Corban was too much to handle in the post and in transition, allowing the visitors to fly to a 68-58 victory at the P1FCU Activity Center. This marks the 17th win of the season for the Navy and Gold and catapults them back into the second overall spot in the conference with four games remaining in the regular season.
Junior guard Taylor Anderson, who usually plays the role of facilitator for the Corban offense, led the team with 15 points this evening, adding three rebounds along the way in 35 minutes played. Warmouth and senior guard Mateo Escheik followed closely behind with 13 and 10 points, respectively, while Escheik hauled in a game-high six rebounds.
Brown was on a heater tonight for LCSC, scoring a game-high 26 points and missing only two shots all night to finish 9-for-11 from the field. Guard John Lustig was the only other home team student-athlete with double-digit scoring at 10 points.
Corban Men's Basketball continues their road trip next weekend, starting with the No. 1 team in the NAIA, The College of Idaho Yotes (22-1, 17-0), on Friday at 7:30pm MST/6:30pm PST.
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