EUGENE, Ore. – It took the full 40 minutes of regulation to clinch the season sweep over I-5 rival Bushnell University for the Corban University Men's Basketball team, as their double-digit second half lead was diminished by the stellar gameplay of a Beacon guard who quite literally could not miss. Nonetheless, the Warriors' defense proved they're one of the best in the NAIA with one final full court stop, resulting in an 88-85 road victory to enter 2025 on a high note.
"Bushnell is always a tough out on their home court and they came out to compete today," Corban head coach Taylor Kelly detailed regarding his fourth-straight win over the Beacons. "I'm excited to see how our guys respond to the uptick in competitive juices. We rebounded really well and had an incredible offensive effort with how we played collectively."
After the Warriors (7-5, 5-1) took an 85-69 decision on Tim Hills Court earlier this month against the Beacons (5-7, 1-5), it was clear that Bushnell wasn't just going to roll over and allow the Navy and Gold to clinch a season sweep for the second-consecutive year. In their initial meeting on December 13th, Corban leapt out to a massive lead in the opening half and despite a slight comeback bid by the Beacons, the Warriors were able to ride their offensive efforts to a 16-point victory. Tonight, the tides had certainly turned on Bushnell's home court with the Beacs converting at will on their own offensive end, while Corban saw their non-conference struggles on Dave Lipp Court spill over into tonight's matchup.
Defense was optional throughout the first half of tonight's matchup in Eugene, with the two Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) foes combining for 88 points in twenty minutes of regulation and splitting the offensive totals to force a 44-all draw at halftime. Warriors' junior guard Spivey Word was unstoppable from the field through the opening half, converting on six of his nine field goal attempts for 13 points to average a point per minute played.
The second half was once again a high-scoring affair for both programs, yet Word and the Warriors spread the love across the court while it was one Beacon in particular that scored 26 of their 41 second half points. Guard Squeeky Johnson took it upon himself to chip away at the double-digit lead that Corban had established on his home court, as he converted on a perfect 10-for-10 from the field, half of those coming from beyond the arc to keep Bushnell in this contest down the stretch.
With 2:05 remaining, Warriors' senior guard RJ Veliz splashed a three-pointer following another trio from Johnson that increased their lead to a nine-point advantage, yet the Navy and Gold would only score two points the remainder of the contest while Johnson scored 11-straight to pull the Beacs to within a single point at 86-85.
Following a pair of clutch free throws by sophomore guard Ben Krystkowiak, Bushnell heaved one final three-point attempt with Squeeky double-teamed from the start of the play, with forward Cory Johnson's longball attempt hitting iron and falling into Krystkowiak's arms to secure the crucial road victory and advance the Warriors to a half-game out of first place in the CCC and a four-game winning streak over the Beacons.
Word concluded his evening with a team-best 28 points on 12-for-19 shooting, hauling in two rebounds and snagging a pair of assists along the way. Veliz put together his best offensive effort of the year with a season-high 18 points on 80% shooting from the field, all while dishing out a game-high six assists. Krystkowiak added 11 points offensively. While redshirt junior guard Nikola Milosevic secured the team-high rebounding mark of ten in 29 minutes off the bench.
The Johnson & Johnson partnership of Squeeky and Cory were the top performers for Bushnell, with Squeeky scoring a game-high 30 points while Cory had a 15-point and 11-rebound double-double outing. Guard Roy Bunn was the only other Beacon in double-figures with ten points and a pair of boards.
A date with the No. 2-ranked program in the NAIA is how the Warriors will kick off 2025, as they'll travel to The College of Idaho (10-1, 5-0) for a 7:30pm MT/6:30pm PT tip off with the Yotes for a massive head-to-head matchup atop the CCC standings.
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