ASHLAND, Ore. – After competing shot-for-shot on the road against the Raiders of Southern Oregon University tonight through the opening half to enter the halftime break tied at 31-all, the Corban University Men's Basketball team struggled to rediscover their offensive identity early in the second half, eventually dropping a 71-61 decision in their penultimate contest of the calendar year.
"We played a solid first half but had lost our Collective Mindset in the second by giving up two threes in the first minute and our guys just couldn't respond," shared Warriors head coach Wayne Mendezona earlier this evening. "We got the lead back down to manageable striking distance but couldn't close the door. A great effort from Joe who has been our most explosive player both offensively and defensively as of late. We're hoping to rebound tomorrow against a tough OIT program behind a strong team effort if we want to split this road trip."
A closely contested opening period between the Warriors (5-6, 1-2) and Raiders (5-5. 3-0) got flipped in the hometown team's favor immediately out of halftime, as Southern Oregon rapidly got out to an 11-point lead at the first media timeout thanks to a 17-6 run that started with back-to-back three-pointers in their opening possessions. Corban shot the ball extremely well in the first half, converting on 52% of all field goal attempts, yet an equally impressive mark from the Raiders in the second half erased the first half road momentum the Navy and Gold had established early on.
The Dubs would cut the deficit to just five points on a fastbreak layup by true freshman guard Landon Knox, but SOU countered with a 7-0 run to stretch the lead back to double-digits and squash the Navy and Gold comeback bid in its tracks. Advantages in points scored off turnovers (18-12), points in the paint (38-32), and fastbreak scoring (14-5) all pointed in the Warriors' favor, yet their inefficiency from beyond the arc and at the free throw line flipped their winnable Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) road contest into losing decision.
An all-around effort by Corban junior guard Joe Gould saw the Contra Costa College transfer score a game-high 21 points while dishing out the game-best assist and steals marks with five dimes alongside four steals. Redshirt junior center Tj Zimmermann added 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists, while graduate student forward Oreon Courtney scored seven points and brought down a team-high five boards.
Southern Oregon forward Bryce Dyer was a rebound shy of a double-double effort, scoring 12 points along with the game-high nine rebounds he possessed. Five Raiders were in double-digit scoring on the night, with guard Brady Rice dropping the team-best total with 13 points and six rebounds.
A 5pm tipoff awaits the Navy and Gold tomorrow evening in the Klamath Basin, as No. 20-ranked Oregon Tech (8-3, 3-0) will host the Warriors for their final contest of the 2025 calendar year.
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