Salem, Ore. | The Warner Pacific University Men's Basketball team (9-12, 5-8) just could not match the high-scoring offense of the Corban University Warriors (14-8, 9-5) on their Saturday evening showdown, as they fell by a final score of 58-91 at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
 
Early and swift transition baskets for both the Warriors and Knights led to an even 11-11 margin going into the first media timeout. Shortly after, Corban took advantage of some early foul trouble for Warner Pacific to score 11 straight points near the midway point of the first half, forcing Knights' Head Coach Jamayne Potts to call his second timeout of the evening.
 
Corban kept the foot on the gas pedal by applying constant pressure on the Knights, finding a way to score points on seamlessly every possession down the court, while Warner Pacific could not buy a basket. Just as WPU could find a break in the Warriors defensive execution, Corban would match the bucket and add two or three more for extra incentive.
 
Shooting 50% from beyond the three-point arc will force a lot of points on an opponent, as an ambush of Corban scoring kept the Warner Pacific crew looking for more heading to the halftime break, trailing 21-48 to the home Warriors. Junior guard Thomas Miles had a pair of three-point baskets for WPU in the first 20 minutes of action, while CU's Psalm Maduakor was the only player on both squads with double-digit points after the first half, sitting at 10 points.
 
The barrage of three-pointers continued into the second half, as the Warriors hit from behind the three-point line on back-to-back trips to open their final half of offense. However, some light at the end of the tunnel began to shine for the Knights, as they were able to answer with a couple of three-point shots of their own.
 
Warner Pacific started to find consistency in their ability to match Corban on every trip down the court, but a 27-point halftime deficit proved to be a daunting task ahead of them. With the first media timeout underway, WPU was staring at a 30+ point mountain they needed to climb with 14 minutes of basketball remaining.
 
The Knights managed to trickle the deficit back down to under 30 points with a pair of free throws from senior forward Darius Traylor, but the Warriors immediately answered with six straight points to stretch the lead as high as 35 points.
 
In a last ditch effort by Warner Pacific, trip after trip down the court was left in an attempt to score via the three-point attempt to play the catchup game, but unfortunately could not keep up with the hot-handed Warriors on Saturday evening, falling 58-91.
 
Knights' sophomore guard Tyrese Yussuf-Willis scored a game-high tying 13 points with four dimes and three rebounds, while Miles finished with 11 points on 50% shooting from the field.
 
Six Warriors finished in double-digits for Corban, most notably Mateo Escheik who scored 13 points with four rebounds and a pair of assists. Corban's Darius Henderson finished a single point shy of a double-double, with nine points and 10 rebounds to lead the Warriors under the basket.
 
Warner Pacific Men's Basketball rebounds quickly into a Tuesday evening contest with crosstown rival Multnomah University, where they will play around 7:30pm PDT at C.C. Perry Gym, following the conclusion of the Women's Basketball game. As a reminder, Warner Pacific University has made the decision to not allow outside fans for the upcoming week of home games, in an attempt to lower the increase in recent COVID-19 cases. All games will be available for free at www.wpuknights.com.