KIRKLAND, Wash. – Yet another Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament will feature the Corban University Men's Basketball program later this month, as the Warriors rolled to an 88-72 road victory tonight against Northwest University to lock up a spot in the 2024-25 postseason. This marks the eleventh-consecutive season that the Navy and Gold have punched their ticket into the CCC Playoffs that dates to the 2014-15 season.
"We had a great team effort tonight," shared Warriors' head coach Taylor Kelly. "Eighteen assists on thirty-two made field goals is the kind of efficiency we've been looking for out of our offense. The ball was popping and had a ton of life to it. Our guys stepped up and stuck some big shots. It was fun to get back on track to build momentum as we look to make a run down the stretch of this season."
Warriors' sophomore guard Ben Krystkowiak set the tone on the opening possession for Corban (13-12, 11-8) with a driving layup, and despite a three-pointer by the Eagles (5-20, 4-15) that represented their only lead of the evening, the Navy and Gold reclaimed their lead on the following possession thanks to longball from Krystkowiak and never looked back in their double-digit road victory.
The Warriors extended their lead to double digits early in the first half and would lead by as many as 22 points in the second half, giving Coach Kelly an opportunity clear his bench and allow every student-athlete that dressed tonight see floor time. The Navy and Gold dominated every facet of tonight's matchup with Northwest, including a 51-27 advantage in points scored by reserve players, a 34-26 rebounding margin, and one of their most efficient offensive outings of the year with a 55.2% field goal percentage.
A quintet of Corban student-athletes scored in double figures tonight, with Krystkowiak scoring 15 points with a trio of rebounds to top the Warriors' offensively. Senior guard RJ Veliz was right behind Krystkowiak with 14 points, three boards, and three steals, while senior guard Drayton Caoile and senior forward Jared Franklin each tallied 13 points apiece.
Northwest forward Nash Wobrock scored a game-high 21 points in 32 minutes played with four rebounds and a pair of steals for one of the Eagles' Senior Night honorees, while forward Manuel Zapater pitched in another 14 points off the bench with five boards.
Corban men's basketball will wrap up the travel portion of the 2024-25 regular season tomorrow evening in Olympia, where they'll battle The Evergreen State College (2-20, 2-17) at 5pm.
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