COLLEGE PLACE, Wash. – The 2025-26 Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) slate has come to a close, and the Corban University Men's Basketball team once again ended their regular season on the rise, as they staved off multiple double-digit first half deficits and a 44-37 halftime deficiency to outscore Walla Walla University 53-32 in the second half and clinch the No. 7-overall seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
"We started the game out very poorly against a very excited Walla Walla team who had nothing to lose tonight," Corban head coach Wayne Mendezona commented. "Walla Walla played outstanding in the first half and controlled the tempo by making great shots and capitalizing on our offensive blunders. Finally, we found our footing in the second half with six-straight stops to begin the half. The team finished strong and has regained its spark and momentum after suffering some devastating defeats to top conference opponents. That being said, I feel good about our team's chances against Eastern Oregon in the first round. We've already beat them at their place once, so to repeat that task will be extremely challenging, but we can go do it again. I feel like our guys are hungry and desperate to prove that they are one of the better teams in the conference. We'll for sure have them prepared and ready to go to battle."
Regarding tonight's individual accomplishments, Mendezona plauded, "The team was led by Tj and Joe, with Tj sparking us on the offensive end and Joe coming up really strong on the defensive end. But the heroes of this game were Tayshawn and Anjay who played incredible, especially during a key stretch in the second half where momentum was critical. Their efforts on both ends led to us finally getting that breakthrough that we needed. Anjay finished with one are the most spectacular reverse dunks on a lob that I've ever witnessed at the small college level. It was spectacular and really sparked our team at the end. Several other players contributed very well including Landon hitting a few really big shots. Benett had an all-around outstanding game and hit timely shots from deep and played solid defense. Other contributors were Oreon who really came alive in the second half. Carter gave us solid minutes, and CJ also gave us good quality minutes as well. Nico finally had a breakout game in terms of finding a rhythm that we so desperately need going into playoffs."
Senior Night antics had clearly played into the Wolves (1-25, 1-19) and their out-of-body first half of offense, as the typically hot-and-cold Walla Walla offense was on fire from the field over the opening twenty minutes of regulation where they converted on over 50% of their field goal attempts while outrebounding the Warriors (14-14, 10-10) by nearly double-figures.
However, Mendezona and the Dubs emerged from their halftime locker room chat and immediately turned the tables on the Wolves, notching a 7-0 scoring run to tie the contest back up just over two minutes into the second half. The Wolves stretched their original lead back to as many as five points, but a three-pointer from freshman guard Landon Knox with 9:16 remaining flipped the scoreboard for the final time, and the Navy and Gold would go on to outscore Walla Walla 24-12 the rest of their regular season finale.
Redshirt junior center Tj Zimmermann scored a team-best 21 points alongside eight rebounds and five assists in a well-rounded outing for the Warriors' big man, while redshirt senior guard Anjay Cortez pitched in another 18 points and six boards in 23 minutes off the bench. Junior guard Joe Gould added 14 points, three rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals.
Wolves' center Soren Dalan clinched yet another double-double outing for Walla Walla, bringing down a game-high 12 boards combined with ten points on the offensive end of the court. Guard Jordan Jackson led all players with 22 points and three steals.
A twelfth-consecutive CCC Tournament appearance and postseason berth for the Corban men's basketball program begins this upcoming Wednesday night on the road, as they'll look to avenge a forty-point Senior Night loss to RV Eastern Oregon University (21-7, 16-4) a week ago tonight and shock the No. 2-seeded Mountaineers once again in Quinn Coliseum. On January 16th, the Navy and Gold handed the Mounties a 66-60 loss in La Grande, representing their lone loss of the entire season on their home court. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30pm on Wednesday, February 25th in a rare fourth-game installment between two conference foes in a single season.
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