ASHLAND, Ore. – After grinding out a slow and low scoring first half of basketball, the Corban University Men's Basketball team fell victim to a hot shooting performance in the second half by the Southern Oregon University Raiders, who caught fire from beyond the three-point arc, shooting well over 50% to end the Warriors' 2023-24 season in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament quarterfinal stage.
"We did not play the way we wanted to tonight," began Warriors' head coach Taylor Kelly. "But we honored our seniors all year long. They are a special group of men. I'm very proud of them and honored to have been their coach. The guys we have in our locker room remaining will carry the torch and keep our program moving forward."
Just like in their previous matchup on Tim Hills Court, the Warriors (17-11) and Raiders (17-12) both struggled offensively through the opening half, with the first points of the contest not being scored until well into the second minute of play with a rare 1-0 scoreboard after Southern Oregon split on a pair of free throws.
While SOU slowly started to figure out their offensive scheme, Corban was still trying to convert on a simple layup through the lane and into contact, as nothing was falling the Warriors way en route to shooting just 31% from the field in the opening half. In addition, the Navy and Gold had three extra fouls called against them when compared to Southern Oregon, which would prove to be a pivotal moment in the ballgame with Warriors' star forward Jay Wilson having to sit the bench for a majority of the first half after he got in early foul trouble.
The junior had already racked up six points and four rebounds, but only saw the court for seven total minutes once he committed his third personal foul. Ten offensive rebounds in the first period of play saw the Navy and Gold sitting in a comfortable rebounding situation, but their inability to find the bottom of the basket was hindering their pace of play and hurting them on the defensive end of the court in transition, thus leading to the Raiders' 33-23 halftime lead.
Despite Corban's first half struggles, the Raiders weren't playing exceptionally better on their home court, merely converting on the opportunities that were provided to them in an otherwise forgettable opening period for the Warriors. Every Corban student-athlete to touch the court in the first 20 minutes of play had scored at least a single field goal, but even more Warriors were needing to step up if they wanted to complete the comeback bid in the Lithia Motors Pavilion.
Just like in the women's game played last night between the Warriors and Raiders, the hometown team finally caught fire from beyond the arc to stretch their lead up to as many as 19 before Coach Kelly had to call timeout to stop the bleeding. Corban's scoring woes had carried with them into the second half, with Wilson still representing the only consistent offensive presence on the court on a perfect field goal percentage and leading in both points and rebounds.
No matter what the Warriors tried to accomplish, the Raiders would run down to their own front court and jack up a three-point attempt from virtually anywhere to rack up a 30-point lead by the final media timeout. Six different Southern Oregon players had converted on at least one longball attempt, allowing the floor to be stretched to the max and opening up massive driving lanes for the big men off the pick-and-roll.
On their final possession of the game with a massive lead, the Raiders' hoisted one last shot from deep, which was drained as if it was shot from within a foot from the hoop given the blazing hot shooting night SOU just experienced. This was only the second time all year long that Southern Oregon shot above 50% from the three-point arc, with the other coming in a crucial road win a few weeks ago at Bushnell University.
The Warriors got a dose of their own medicine that they handed the Raiders in their last matchup in Salem to close out their home regular season, as the SOU student-athletes kept the receipts and cashed in on their own floor. Corban eventually ended the 88-60 contest by shooting nearly 42% from the field, but a remarkable 56% from Southern Oregon eventually spelled doom for the Navy and Gold this evening.
Senior guard Collin Warmouth concluded his collegiate basketball career with a team-high 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists in a complete game for the Roseburg native, while fellow senior guard Reece Van Lierop pitched in 12 points on a quartet of three-pointers. Junior forward Jay Wilson managed steer clear of his fifth personal foul to score 13 points and secure the team-high rebounding mark of eight boards.
Raiders' guard Casson Rouse came off the bench to score a game-high 19 points after connecting on six of his nine field goal attempts from three-point land, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 at one point that led to his team's 20-plus point advantage midway through the second half. Guard Cole McAninch added 17 points, four rebounds, and four assists, while forward Dominic McGarvey tallied 15 points and brought down a game-high nine rebounds to dominate the key for SOU.
Coach Kelly will see four graduating senior student-athletes (Warmouth, Van Lierop, Taylor Anderson, and Josiah Roth) depart from the program this upcoming spring commencement, while returning eight rostered players that will all look to keep the Warrior traditions alive with the next recruiting class set to make immediate impacts on the west coast program. The Warriors wrap up the 2023-24 season with a 17-11 overall record, 14-8 in conference play, and their tenth-consecutive postseason appearance under their belts.
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