SALEM, Ore. – A 45-point first half for the Corban University Men's Basketball team, led by junior guard Spivey Word and his 20 points at the halftime break, allowed the Warriors to withstand a late surge by I-5 rival Bushnell University and take the first of two Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) matchups with the Beacons 85-69 at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center earlier this evening.

"That was a big rivalry win for us on our home court tonight," Corban head coach Taylor Kelly described regarding his program's third-straight victory over Bushnell. "It feels like this group is really starting to hit their stride. We shot the ball really well tonight and had a bunch of guys step up, led by Spivey in the first half and Ben in the second. Luc made some big shots and free throws for us and Jared helped seal the win with some big defensive possessions down the stretch. I'm really proud of the fight and ability to weather the storm that Bushnell threw at us in the second half."

The defensively minded Warriors (5-4, 3-0) were unstoppable from their own offensive end of the court tonight to open their matchup with the Beacons (5-4, 1-2) on Tim Hills Court, as they gut-punched their conference travel partner with a 24-7 run to open the contest and never trailed again in their 16-point CCC victory.

Despite a late scoring run by the Beacons that saw the Navy and Gold lead slashed to a single possession, Corban's nationally recognized defense, which ranks 15th in the NAIA for points allowed per game (66.3), returned to their prime condition by permitting just five more Bushnell points for the remainder of the contest while scoring 18 more points themselves. Powered by the stellar teamwork of senior guard Luc Krystkowiak and brother/sophomore guard Ben Krystkowiak, the Warriors were able to find the open man all night long and dominate the Beacons in points off turnovers 23-4 while holding a slight advantage in the paint with a 44-36 scoring margin in favor of Corban.

While the Beacons shot a respectable 42% from the field today, the Warriors converted on over half of their field goals (34-for-60) to represent their best single-game percentage of the season at just under 57% on the night, with 52% of their three-point attempts finding paydirt. Leading the charge at 66% was Word and his game-high 20 points that all came in the opening half, hitting four of Corban's nine three-pointers with just four missed field goal attempts all evening.

The Krystkowiak brothers combined for 26 points, ten rebounds, seven assists, and four steals, with Ben adding another four darts from beyond the arc to match Word offensively. Senior guard RJ Veliz dished out for assists and added ten points offensively, while fellow senior guard Drayton Caoile dropped eight points with four more assists against his former team.

For the Beacons, guard Luke Smith hopped of the bench to score a team-best 18 points with a trio of three-pointers, while forward Cory Johnson netted a 13-point and 14-rebound double-double in his near complete game effort. Forward Kaleb Burnett was the last remaining Bushnell student-athlete in double figures with 14 points and eight boards.

Corban men's basketball will be back on their home court next week on Friday, December 20th, as they're scheduled to host the Raiders of Southern Oregon University (5-3, 0-2) at 7:30pm on Tim Hills Court.

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