Corban Men Named Verizon Team of the Week
LA GRANDE, Ore. – Corban University men’s basketball team, which has won seven of its last eight games, including a win over No. 1 Oregon Tech, has been named the “Verizon Team of the Week” in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, the conference office announced Sunday.
“In this conference every win is a good one, but beating OIT as the as No. 1 team in the nation on senior night is really special,” Corban men’s basketball head coach Justin Sherwood said.
The Warriors (18-12, 10-8 Cascade Collegiate Conference) swept the weekend with wins at home over Southern Oregon Friday and top-ranked Tech Saturday. Corban has won seven of the last eight contests, with the lone loss in that stretch a one-point loss at home to No. 12 Warner Pacific.
“We are playing well, our defense has been pretty good all year and now we seem to be clicking on the offensive end,” Sherwood said. “I think we are playing with more confidence than we did earlier in the season.”
Corban knocked off Southern Oregon, 91-78, behind a 35-point performance from Jordan Carter. The sophomore was 9-of-15 from the field and 12-for-13 from the free-throw line. Erik Cronrath added 20 points. The Warriors were 55 percent from the field in the game, including 68 percent in the first half.
Carter continued his offensive onslaught Saturday with another 35-point outburst against Oregon Tech. The Salem native was 9-of-13 from the field, making six of his seven three-point attempts. Cronrath chipped in 19 points for the Warriors. Corban was 55 percent from the field and hit eight of its 13 shots from behind the arc.
“Jordan had a great weekend,” Sherwood said. “He has been working hard at picking his spots about when to attack the basket and when to take the outside shot. He was shot very well this weekend and did a great job of attacking the basket at the appropriate time.”
The Warriors travel to Eastern Oregon in the first round of the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Wednesday. Eastern and Corban split the regular season series with the home team winning each time. Tipoff for all CCC tournament quarterfinal games are scheduled for 7 p.m.
“EOU is a very good basketball team,” Sherwood said. “They have a lot of offensive weapons, are athletic and are playing well winning four in a row. It is always good to play in the postseason, as long as you are playing in the postseason you are still alive.”
Previous Verizon Team of the Week awardees.