Box Score SALEM, Ore. – Plagued by an inconsistent offense that never could get anything going, the Multnomah University Lions fell behind early and watched as the host Corban University Warriors pulled away with a series of short runs to take an eventual 84-60 Cascade Collegiate Conference men's basketball victory Friday night here at the C.E. Jeffers Gym.
Brett Blackstock nailed a jumper in the lane to give Multnomah the early lead 44 seconds into the game, but that was the only time the Lions would be ahead. An AJ Monterossi layup tied it 21 seconds later, Andrew Evans hit a 15-footer to put the Warriors ahead at the 18:35 mark, and the home team led the rest of the way. Corban never put together more than a 6-0 run at any time in the first half, but with their offense connecting only sporadically, the Lions could not prevent the Warriors from continually extending their lead. The gap hit double digits for the first time at 17-7 on a Caleb Dozier baseline jumper at 13:33, and reached its largest first-half margin of 19 points with a three-pointer by Monterossi that made it 43-24 at the break.
Beau Shockley hit a layup to open the second half and trim the Lions' deficit to 17, but that was as close as the visitors would get. Joel Johnson hit two layups around a layup and free throw by Dozier to push the score to 50-26 with 14:47 left, and the rest of the game was little more than an exchange of baskets. Corban's largest lead was 35 twice, the last at 69-34 on a trey by Mike Seng at 8:48. The Lions scored the last seven points of the game on a pair of Shockley free throws and a three-pointer and layup by
Max Upchurch to make the final score more respectable.
--- By the Numbers: Shockley turned in season highs of 16 points and nine rebounds, hitting 6-of-9 from the field, and Blackstock chipped in with 11 points and seven boards. The Lions finished with a .316 shooting percentage (24-76) and only .237 (9-38) from three-point range.
Ry Paulsen passed out three assists, while Blackstock and
Trey Fountain picked up a pair of steals apiece.
Johnson led Corban with 15 points, surpassing 1,000 for his career, while Jeff Sobotta added 11 and Andrew Evans 10. The Warriors shot .434 (33-76) for the game and .435 (10-23) from behind the arc. Beau Roggenbach's game-high 11 rebounds helped Corban to a 58-43 advantage on the boards. Sobotta had five assists, and Johnson blocked two shots.
Multnomah fell to 6-18 on the season and 3-12 in the conference, while Corban improved to 14-10 overall and 8-8 in the league.
--- Notes: Corban fans took up a donation during the game to assist with hospital and rehabilitation expenses for Multnomah women's basketball player Ana Wakefield, who was seriously injured in an automobile accident in the fall and has missed the entire season.
--- Next: Multnomah visits Northwest Christian University while Corban hosts Warner Pacific College Friday for CCC games, both at 7:30 p.m. … Each will be preceded by women's conference games at 5:30 p.m.
