SALEM, Ore. – After showing out last Saturday in their 2025-26 home opener where they dropped eclipsed the century mark offensively while holding their opponent to under 70 points defensively, the Corban University Men's Basketball team was unable to recreate their success tonight in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) league opener across the Pacific Northwest, falling to I-5 rival Bushnell University 86-67 in what represents the Beacons' third win over the Warriors in a six-season span.
"We just lacked the offensive firepower we've had all season to this point tonight," explained Corban head coach Wayne Mendezona shortly after their conference opener went final. "We need to get back to the basics that rewarded us through our non-conference schedule and focus on what we can control from both an offensive and defensive approach. We've got a quick turnaround this week, but we'll get back to work and refocus as we prepare for our final matchups of 2025."
Despite opening the contest on a 16-7 run, the Warriors (4-4, 0-1) saw their lead evaporate over the remainder of the first half after the Beacons (4-4, 1-0) managed to hold Corban scoreless for over five minutes of gameplay, which led to a five-point halftime lead for the visiting squad who then emerged from the locker room to score seven-consecutive points and put the hometown team in a double-digit hole. The Beacons had an offensive answer of their own the rest of the way tonight on Tim Hills Court, as they finished the contest at an even 50% field goal percentage while the Dubs shot under 40% for the first time all season long.
A 22-point effort from Warriors' redshirt junior center Tj Zimmermann wasn't enough for a conference-opening win, as the only other Navy and Gold student-athlete in double-figures was junior guard Joe Gould who scored 13 points while hauling in six rebounds and dealing out five assists. Redshirt senior guard Anjay Cortez led all players with 11 rebounds on the defensive glass.
A game-high 25 points off the bench by Beacons' forward Cory Johnson powered Bushnell to a road victory, with forward Kaleb Burnett adding 17 points and seven rebounds while guards Roy Bunn and Squeeky Johnson tacked on 11 points apiece.
The Warriors will complete the split of their opening CCC contests between home and away duties on Thursday when they travel to Warner Pacific University (4-3, 0-0) for a 7:30pm tipoff at C.C. Perry Gym.
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