Box Score PORTLAND, Ore. – A 21-11 surge over the final 10 minutes of the first half enabled Corban University to break away from Multnomah University, and the visiting Warriors maintained a comfortable lead the rest of the way en route to a 93-75 Cascade Collegiate Conference men's basketball win over the Lions Saturday night here at Lytle Gym.
Corban never trailed after scoring the first two buckets of the game on a layup by Joel Johnson and a jumper by AJ Monterossi, but Multnomah hung around for the first 10 minutes.
Ben Grandle's three-pointer brought the Lions within one at 6-5 at 17:37, and
Brett Blackstock scored seven of the Lions' next 14 points to keep the hosts close. A pair of
Darius Redrick free throws with 10:05 to go in the half drew the Lions within six at 25-19, but the Warriors exerted their inside game over the last half of the period, going to 6-9 post Johnson for 10 points over that time and building a 46-30 halftime advantage.
A layup by Grandle and a three by
Jon Viles to open the second half gave Multnomah hope for a comeback, but Monterossi with five points and Caleb Dozier with six over the next three minutes extended Corban's lead to 20 at 57-37 with 16:31 remaining. The lead reached 23 on a Beau Roggenbach layup that made it 62-39 with 14:32 left, and the Warriors' lead hovered between 21 to 14 points the rest of the way.
--- By the Numbers: Blackstock paced the Lions in both points and rebounds for the second night in a row with 17 and eight respectively, Grandle added 15 points, and Viles knocked down 12. Multnomah managed a .361 shooting mark (26-72) but only .286 (10-35) from beyond the arc. Redrick and
Trey Fountain had three assists apiece, and Viles made a pair of steals.
Johnson finished with a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Warriors and also blocked a pair of shots. Monterossi and Chris Martin tallied 17 points each, and Dozier added 14. Corban shot .487 (37-76) from the field, only .333 (6-18) from long range, and controlled the glass 53-39. Monterossi had seven assists and Dozier six.
Multnomah is now 4-12 on the season and 1-6 in the conference, while Corban is 11-6 overall and 5-4 in the CCC.
--- Quoting MU coach Curt Bickley: "Another poor shooting first half, but I was pleased with how we moved the ball in the second half which led to much better shooting. Corban hurt us down low; their bigs are really good. We got better tonight; we are looking to improve on that going forward."
--- Next: Multnomah visits Eastern Oregon University Friday at 7:30 p.m. … Corban entertain the Oregon Institute of Technology Friday, also at 7:30 p.m. … Both are CCC games that will be preceded by women's games at 5:30 p.m.
