SALEM, Ore. – Thanks to the leadership of their four senior student-athlete leaders, the Corban University Men's Basketball team was able to avenge their narrow three-point road loss to Southern Oregon University with an impressive display on Tim Hills Court earlier this evening, as the Warriors cruised to an 80-61 victory to close out the regular season home slate and clinch at worst the No. 6-overall seed in the upcoming Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament. The program recognized four senior student-athletes this evening for their dedication and representing Corban University to the best of their ability, which included Collin Warmouth, Josiah Roth, Reece Van Lierop, and Taylor Anderson.
"What a fun way to conclude our seniors time on Tim Hills Court!" Corban head coach Taylor Kelly stated earlier this evening. "They are Warrior legends and stepped up big time tonight for our program. I can't wait to get back to work next week to extend this season as long as we can!"
Southern Oregon (15-11, 13-7) was able to finally score the first points of the game at the 18:01 mark in the first half to take what would end up representing their only lead of the entire evening, as Corban (16-9, 13-7) scored 17 of the next 19 points to take a commanding double-digit lead and hardly waver for the remainder of the contest.
Despite the Raiders' best efforts, the senior Warriors came to the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center tonight with a purpose in mind, determined to snap their two-game losing streak on their home floor and set themselves up with better odds to host a playoff game in less than two weeks' time.
Both the Corban offense and defense were in peak condition today in front of Warrior Nation, shooting over 55% from the field and 58% from three-point land while holding SOU to just 37% on field goal attempts and converting on a third of their long-ball shots. The Navy and Gold shot their best team free-throw percentage of the entire season by connecting on 15-of-16 attempts from the charity stripe, while Southern Oregon secured only 12 of their 18 freebies.
Coach Kelly's senior core stepped up in four completely different ways, highlighted by guard Taylor Anderson and his game-high 23 points and seven assists. Guard Reece Van Lierop added 13 points with a trio of three-pointers, guard Josiah Roth was a defensive stalwart by frustrating Southern Oregon's best shooters all game long, while guard Collin Warmouth did it all in a 10-point, four-rebound, and three-block performance. Junior forward Jay Wilson was back to his usual greatness underneath the basket, scoring 22 points with nine boards and forced his defenders to respect his range with a pair of three-pointers tonight.
Raiders' guard Cole McAninch scored a team-high 14 points before fouling out late in the second half, while forward Dominic McGarvey added 12 points, three boards, and three assists. Guard Mason Whittaker splashed three-straight shots from range to secure nine points off the bench.
The Warriors will look to better their chances of hosting a CCC Tournament contest on their home court next weekend with the first of two final road games on their regular season schedule set for 7:30pm at Eastern Oregon University (11-15, 10-10).
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