LA GRANDE, Ore. – A thirteenth-consecutive postseason appearance for the Corban University Men's Basketball program has them slated No. 7-overall in the 2026 Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament, which begins later tonight across the Pacific Northwest at four different host locations. As the seventh seed, the Warriors will travel to La Grande for a second time in 2026 and fourth meeting overall between No. 2-seeded Eastern Oregon University, who claimed a share of the 2025-26 regular season title with No. 1-seeded Lewis-Clark State College but was knocked down to the second-overall seed following tiebreak procedure.

To view the CCC's tournament central page with links to the tourney program, preview, and live links to all contests, click HERE.

"Our team is set in poise to have an outstanding playoff run," expressed head coach Wayne Mendezona. "We have worked all year both in the offseason, the non-conference slate, and conference schedule to be prepared for battle in the postseason. We have good, solid players at every position and there's no reason why they can't beat any of the teams in this tourney. They've beaten Eastern Oregon in La Grande once, they can do it again. Concentration, commitment, and the collective mindset will be critical for us to advance in the postseason."

After completing an even .500 overall record through their 28 contests in 2025-26, the Warriors (14-14, 10-10) will look to avenge their Senior Day loss to the RV Mountaineers (21-7, 16-4) just two weeks ago at Tim Hills Court, where EOU took control early and never let up in a forty-point road win. Earlier this season, the Navy and Gold shocked Eastern Oregon in La Grande, handing the Mounties their first home loss of the season 66-60 to result in a conference series split.

The Mountaineers' high-octane offense that leads the conference in 85.7 points per game, 41.4% from three-point range, and 16.2 assists per game will clash once again with Corban's top-tier defense scheme, as the Dubs hold opponents to an average under 76 points per game while scoring just over 76 points per game themselves. Junior guard Joe Gould ranks second in the CCC in steals with 46 across their 28-game season, while he also holds the top field goal percentage in the Pacific Northwest at 57.9% of all shots finding paydirt.

As a team, the Warriors average a conference top five 3.2 blocks per game and swipe just under eight steals, which is just 0.1 below the CCC leaders from Washington. From a defensive efficiency standpoint, they hold opponents to field goals on 44.6% of all attempts and 34.7% from deep, both of which represent top five marks in the conference.

Mendezona and his staff will once again be looking to their big man in the paint, redshirt junior center Tj Zimmermann, as their central cog in the offensive scheme, as the Albany native finished eighth in the conference for points per game at exactly 17 points scored per contest. Gould adds another 13 points per night on average, while he averages a top six average in 3.1 assists per game. Redshirt senior guard Anjay Cortez and graduate student forward Oreon Courtney both average around nine points per game as transition offensive and driving-through-the-lane specialists.

The victor of tonight's matchup will earn a Saturday night semifinal contest with the winner of No. 3-seeded Southern Oregon University and No. 6-seeded Bushnell University, who play later tonight as well down the I-5 interstate in Ashland. The Raiders swept the season series with Beacons, while Bushnell swept Corban and the Warriors earning a home-and-home series split with Southern Oregon. With the Dubs representing the lowest seed between the two programs matched up with them on their side of the bracket, they would travel to either Ashland or Eugene depending on the quarterfinal results.

TOURNAMENT BRACKET & SCHEDULE

All games will take place at 7:00 p.m., hosted at the higher seeds.

Quarterfinals – Wednesday, February 25

#8 Northwest at #1 Lewis-Clark State

#7 Corban at #2 Eastern Oregon

#6 Bushnell at #3 Southern Oregon

#5 College of Idaho at #4 Oregon Tech

Semifinals – Saturday, February 28

Winner of #8/#1 vs. Winner of #4/#5 at higher seed

Winner of #7/#2 vs. Winner of #3/#6 at higher seed

Championship – Tuesday, March 3

Lowest remaining seed at Highest remaining seed

Those looking to purchase tickets for tonight's contest can do so by clicking HERE. Livestreams will all be available for free on the Urban Edge Network (UEN), with all CCC contests available HERE.

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