KIRKLAND, Wash. – After trailing by as many as 21 points early in the second half, the Corban University Men's Basketball team fell just three points shy of a miraculous comeback win in Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) play this evening in northwestern Washington, as they dropped an 83-80 result to Northwest University who has moved into a playoff spot right behind the Warriors in the conference standings behind a weekend sweep of the Willamette Valley programs.
"Tonight was a heartbreaking loss after being down by a massive margin and battling back to lead late in the second thanks to a tenacious full court defense," expressed Corban head coach Wayne Mendezona shortly after tonight's result. "However, some simple mistakes down the stretch and pour free throw shooting again cost us when it mattered most despite a valiant effort. So many players stepped up to lead this comeback effort that fell just short, led by CJ and his remarkable defensive effort and willed the team to rally. He along with Joe, Peyton, Oreon, Anjay, and Tj were instrumental in nearly pulling this one off. If we could just play two halves of consistent basketball together as a unit and cash in on our free throws, we would be in a battle at the top of the conference standings right now. We host one of those top teams in OIT next Friday, and we hope to respond in a big way."
The Navy and Gold (10-12, 6-8) held the statistical advantage in nearly every category against the Eagles (8-14, 5-9) despite losing by just three points and trailing by double-digits for a majority of their matchup, as a wild second half that consisted of a 31-10 run from Corban over a ten-minute stretch seemed improbable given their porous first half result where the basket maintained a metaphorical lid.
With 48 seconds remaining, Warriors' redshirt junior guard Clyde Harris Jr. laid a game-tying basket up and in after leading his team back from a certain loss, needing just one more stop to set up a game-winner on the road. However, Northwest drained a corner three on the ensuing possession, while the Dubs turned the ball over on their own end and missed an eventual game-tying triple with two seconds to play, allowing NU to escape on their home court with the CCC victory.
Six different Corban student-athletes scored in double-figures today, with the team-high scoring mark tied by four different players. Harris, redshirt junior center Tj Zimmermann, senior guard Payton Meyers, and redshirt senior guard Anjay Cortez all scored 13 points, while junior guard Joe Gould and graduate student forward Oreon Courtney pitched in ten points apiece. Harris finished two rebounds shy of a double-double with a game-high eight boards, while Gould dished out a team-best five assists.
Eagles' guard Ethan Martin splashed the game-winning triple to provide 16 points off the bench for Northwest, representing the only Eagle in double-digits from the reserves. Guard Christian Watkins scored a game-high 18 points with eight assists, while forward Lucius Fox tacked on another 16 points and four rebounds.
A massive four-game homestand for the Navy and Gold begins on Friday, February 6th at 5:30pm, as they look to complete their first season sweep of Oregon Tech (15-7, 11-3) in 15 years, with their last coming in the 2010-11 season.
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