KIRKLAND, Wash. – Playing in their third overtime contest of the 2023-24 season this evening was the Corban University Men's Basketball team where the Warriors were able to overcome nearly 50 total team fouls on the day between both them and the Northwest University Eagles in a 91-80 overtime slugfest. Tonight's win, combined with Southern Oregon University's loss to the Multnomah Lions, allowed the Navy and Gold to take over the No. 4-seed in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) standings with six conference games remaining for Corban before the end of the regular season.
"Tonight was a massive win for our program," head coach Taylor Kelly shared. "Another game where our guys battled through adversity, stuck together, and made plays when they mattered most. I am so proud of our senior leadership and the way they are leading our team. The belief in our locker room is growing every day and this group is discovering new ways to come through when it matters."
The last time that both the Warriors (14-7, 11-5) and Eagles (6-16, 5-11) took to the court, Corban was able to sneak out with a 97-88 home win in a contest where Northwest just never went away and had to cling to a hope and dream of missed free throw attempts if they wanted to complete a road upset in the ever-competitive CCC.
Tonight's matchup was no different than the first this season, with both squads trading buckets through a majority of the regulation period in an absolute marathon of a game. The Eagles took their largest lead of the evening with less than three minutes having left the clock in the first half at 9-1, which was quickly eliminated with eight-straight points by the Warriors.
Fast-forwarding through the next 35 minutes of play where neither team could extend their lead further than two possessions, the final two minutes of the second half saw each program with multiple opportunities to take home a victory on Saturday night. With 2:15 remaining, a jumper by Corban senior guard Collin Warmouth gave his team a 73-68 advantage, but Northwest was far from being done in scoring points on their home floor.
After an Eagle timeout, Northwest guard Lewis Pope hit a crucial and-one layup to pull his team within two points of tying the game, which was extended to three points in total after Warriors' junior forward Jay Wilson connected on one of his two free throws at the other end.
Northwest opted to go for the easier layup instead of a contested three-pointer with nearly a minute left in regulation and decided to see what Corban could do at the free throw line again. Warmouth matched Wilson's attempts and hit on only one of his own free throws, providing the Eagles with possession at 51 seconds and a two-point deficit.
Forward Manuel Zapater scooped a raindrop of a layup into the basket with 22 seconds remaining and now put the pressure back on Corban to find a game-winning shot, which came up just short and should have been called out of bounds with time expired. However, the officials ruled that the Northwest rebounder had gained possession and was granted a timeout to the Eagles' bench with one second still left on the clock but would need to go the full length of the court to do so.
The combination of a late start and questionable no-call to end regulation left both benches heated and in desperate search of consistent production from their lineups with five minutes sitting between them and potentially massive postseason implications for both programs.
The Eagles scored four of the first seven points to open the overtime period, but their hometown crowd's intensity would soon die out over the final four minutes of play. Northwest's final point would come on a free throw with one minute remaining and in the middle of a six-point deficit, which would ultimately cost them a potential home win and give the Warriors the season sweep for the third-straight season, extending their winning streak over the Eagles to seven-consecutive matchups.
The upperclassmen leadership of senior guard Taylor Anderson, Warmouth, and Wilson powered the Warriors to their fifth-straight win thanks to 23, 22, and 21 points from the starting trio, respectively. Wilson hauled in 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season and third in the past four games, while senior guard Reece Van Lierop tacked on 12 points with a 6-for-6 slate from the charity stripe.
Northwest found double-double performances from forward Luke Howard (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Zapater (15 points, 10 rebounds), but only 20 more points from the rest of the starting lineup resulted in the overtime loss for the Eagles. Guard Trent Williams pitched in 13 points off the bench and the remainder of the Northwest reserves combined for 12 points.
With three weeks of conference matchups remaining, the Navy and Gold will settle at home for the next two weekends and will first welcome Walla Walla University (5-15, 4-11) for an early 2pm start time on February 9th.
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