The Corban University Men's Basketball team (2-0, 0-0) ended their non-conference homestand with a daring late-game comeback Friday night on Tim Hills Court, as the hometown Warriors took down the visiting Warriors of Westmont College (5-1, 0-0) with an 85-80 final score.
"Tonight was about our guys sticking with it and sticking together," Corban Head Coach Taylor Kelly said earlier this evening.
"We did not play well in the first half and credit goes to Westmont; they shot the cover off of the ball. But we responded in the second half with better defensive focus, and we started to get going offensively as well," Kelly continued.
"We showed a greater level of toughness all around and were able to get a win on our home court against a very good Westmont team. I'm very proud of our guys and the way they fought to overcome some adversity tonight," said a prideful Coach Kelly.
As per Kelly's description of tonight's results, Westmont could not be stopped in the first half, as they shot over 62% from the field as a team and 50% from beyond the three-point line.
Corban was able to keep pace with the high-intensity offense over a majority of the half, but a 12-2 run by the visiting Warriors around the five minute mark provided them with the momentum to hold an eight-point lead at the halftime break.
The Navy and Gold were able to slowly chip away at Westmont's lead over the course of the second half, pulling within a single possession with under ten minutes remaining on an and-one fastbreak layup by junior guard Dirk Helaire II.
No less than a minute later, Corban officially completed the comeback on a massive four-point play by junior guard Reece Van Lierop, as he hit his three-point attempt through contact and connected on the bonus free throw for the Warriors to jump to a 71-70 lead.
For the next six minutes, both squads of Warriors would go bucket-for-bucket, exchanging ties and lead changes until Corban senior guard Mateo Escheik put the home team ahead permanently with a step-back midrange jumper. Senior guard Masie Mohammadi hit four free throws down the stretch of the final 13 seconds to clinch the victory for Corban.
The bench was integral for Corban's comeback victory tonight, holding a 44-16 advantage over the Westmont bench players. But the most important part for the Navy and Gold clad Warriors came on the defensive end, as Corban was able to force 22 Westmont turnovers and scored 24 points off those miscues.
Warriors' junior guard Taylor Anderson sliced and diced the Westmont defense for a team-high 15 points, adding a game-high five assist to lead the Corban offense. Mohammadi, Helaire, and senior forward Darius Henderson all hit double-digits as well at the basket, while Henderson swiped four steals to lead all student-athletes on the court. Escheik added nine points and a team-high six rebounds in 24 minutes of action.
Westmont guard Anthony McIntyre could not be stopped offensively, scoring a game-high 26 points and eight rebounds before he fouled out late in the second half after hitting five of eight attempts from the three-point arc. Guard Amir Davis chipped in 16 points by shooting 6-for-11 from the field, adding seven rebounds and a pair of assists and steals.
Corban Men's Basketball will finally play a contest outside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center in less than two weeks, when they open Cascade Collegiate Conference play at Bushnell University (2-0, 0-0) on Tuesday, November 22nd at 7:30pm PST.
Original source can be found here.
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