SALEM, Ore. – Warrior Nation continued to enjoy the offensive fireworks that the Corban University Men's Basketball team have been demonstrating over their past three contest with another highly efficient contest tonight at home against Northwest University, soaring past the Eagles 97-88 in a game consisting of multiple large runs by each program and not once a stoppage in scoring.
"It was good to get back in the swing of conference play," Corban head coach Taylor Kelly stated once the high-octane dust had settled. "We had some players step up with big nights, Taylor and Jay were great offensively for us all night long. Dirk played very well for us and was the defensive presence he has been for us all year. I'm proud of this group of guys and look forward to seeing them progress this year!"
Despite leading by as many as 15 points in the opening half, the Navy and Gold (8-3, 5-1) experienced some sloppy play over the last ten minutes of the first period, allowing the Eagles (2-10, 1-5) to gain momentum slowly but surely and cut the double-digit deficit to just two points with less than five minutes remaining.
However, another large scoring run, this time an 18-9 over the final minutes before the halftime buzzer sounded by the home squad, allowed Corban to boast a 60-49 advantage after one half of action at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center. The Navy and Gold already had four student-athletes in double-figures at the break, led by junior Jay Wilson and his 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting.
Once again, the pendulum swung back in favor of the Eagles throughout the middle section of the second half, as NU chipped away possession-by-possession thanks to an energetic bench and visiting fan section, extremely consistent shot selections, and key defensive stops that put them in a position to make a late run and possibly steal a road win in one of the Cascade Collegiate Conference's most competitive seasons to date.
On the backs of the Warriors' upperclassmen leaders, Corban was able to keep Northwest off the board for the final two minutes of play until 17 seconds remaining, scoring six points over that span to deny Northwest the comeback bid and improve to 5-1 in CCC play.
Wilson didn't miss a single shot in the second half to help power the Warriors to a third-consecutive scoring barrage that resulted in a final score over 95 points, as the Denton, Texas native dropped a game-high 26 points to set a new overall offensive mark as a Warrior. He added nine rebounds in the post to fall just one shy of a double-double performance.
Senior guards Taylor Anderson (23 points), Reece Van Lierop (15 points), and Dirk Helaire II (14 points) all posted season-best scoring highs to best the Eagles tonight, with each of them hauling in their fair shares of rebounds as well.
Northwest forward Luke Howard came off the bench to score a team-best 19 points before fouling out late in the second half, while guard Lewis Pope tacked on another 17 points and quartet of boards. Guards O'Shae Barquet and Caleb Whalen pitched in 11 aand 10 points, respectively, and forward Dominic Wilson held the best rebounding mark by an Eagle with eight rebounds and nine points.
In the midst of a four-game homestand, the Warriors will host their second leg to kick off the new year tomorrow night at 5pm against The Evergreen State College (1-10, 0-6), looking to complete the sweep of the Washington CCC members.
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