KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – A massive first half lead for the Corban University Men's Basketball team was slowly chipped at by No. 24-ranked Oregon Tech, as the Warriors squandered a 22-0 advantage thanks to an offensive explosion by the Owls to finish the opening half of conference play at 6-5 overall and in a two-way tie for fifth place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC).
"This was a tough road trip against two really good teams," Navy and Gold head coach Taylor Kelly shared shortly after tonight's result. "We had some great spurts where we battled hard and made a ton of plays. Ultimately, we needed to defend and not turn the ball over as much as we did tonight."
For the first seven minutes of tonight's contest, it was quite literally all Corban, as the Warriors (9-7, 6-5) didn't allow a single point to the Owls (14-3, 9-2) until the 12:34 mark and established a lengthy 22-0 lead before the first OIT points. Every shot the Owls took, no matter how good the opportunity was, just didn't fall their way on Danny Miles Court and frustrated the local fans on every possession.
However, as to be expected with a pair of longtime CCC members, the pendulum quickly swung back in favor of the hometown team, as Oregon Tech erased their double-digit deficit and held Corban to just seven points until the next media timeout. OIT would eventually clean up the errant mistakes and climb back to take a 41-37 lead at the halftime break, sneaking up to take the lead with a 41-15 run over the final 12 minutes of the first half.
For the next eighteen minutes of play, the two programs battled shot-for-shot until the Owls finally found some consistency in the front court to increase their lead into more than a single possession, eventually taking the first of two matchups with Corban via a 94-84 final score.
Junior forward Jay Wilson continued his dominant season in the paint with a 20-point and nine-rebound performance today, converting on 75% of his field goal attempts and eight of his 11 free throws. Junior guard Aundree Polk came off the bench and added 18 points, while senior guards Taylor Anderson and Reece Van Lierop added 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Owls' guard Kam Osborn was all over the court offensively for the nationally ranked program, scoring a game-high 27 points with four rebounds along the way. Guard Jamison Guerra played 36 minutes and scored 19 points while dishing out four assists, while forward Blake Jensen was the only other Oregon Tech student-athlete in double-figures tonight with 10 points scored and seven boards.
The Warriors will break their two-way tie in fifth place this upcoming Tuesday with a 7:30pm matchup in Eugene with Bushnell University (9-8, 6-5), looking to sweep the Beacons on the season and keep their winning record in conference play alive.
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