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Masten masterful in loss to #20 Eagles of Northwest
January 6, 2007
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Sophomore Kyle Masten led Corban's offensive attack for the second straight night with a game-high 20 points on 6-for-16 shooting from the field tonight in the Warriors' loss to nationally-ranked Northwest University. (Photo courtesy of William Scott Photography) |
KIRKLAND, Wash. -
Sophomore Kyle Masten (Salem, Ore.) scored a game-high 20 points on 6-for-16 shooting from the field, but it was not enough as Corban's men's basketball team fell to the NAIA's No. 20-ranked Eagles of Northwest on Saturday.
For the second straight night, Masten led the Warriors in scoring as twenty-four hours earlier the 6-foot guard teamed with senior Nate Morris (Dufur, Ore.) to net a team-best 16 points. In the two-day trip to the state of Washington, Masten has accumulated a combined 36 points on 11-for-27 shooting from the field and handed out 9 assists in 69 minutes of action.
The Warriors were able to hang with their nationally-ranked opponents for the first 12-plus minutes thanks to a conventional 3-point play by sophomore Jason Braun (Dallas, Ore.) that knotted the score at 25-all with 8:06 remaining in the opening half. Over the final eight-plus minutes, the host Eagles began to exploit its much younger opponents, who were without the services of the team's leading scorer in sophomore Wade Douglas (Ontario, Ore.), and took its largest lead of the opening stanza (50-29) into the locker room.
In the second half, the Warriors could not get any closer than 18 points (52-34) when junior J.D. Hill (Lebanon, Ore.) hit a lay-up off an assist from Masten exactly one minute into the final twenty minutes. Northwest took three different 30-point leads (98-68, 105-75, & 108-78) throughout the second half, but could not extend its lead beyond that when Masten notched the game's final three points on a shot from long distance with eight seconds to go in the contest.
Braun aided Masten's effort with 19 points off the bench, while seniors Morris and Brad Reynoso (Salem, Ore.) chipped in with 8 and 9 points respectively. Hill controlled the boards for the Warriors with a team-best 4 rebounds, while Braun and Reynoso each pulled down 3 boards.
As a team, Corban shot 24-for-64 (37.5%) from the field, including 13-for-34 (38.2%) from beyond the 3-point line. Meanwhile, Northwest torched the nets shooting 43-for-69 (62.3%) from the field, including 13-for-26 (50.0%) from beyond the 3-point line and 9-for-10 (90.0%) from the free throw line.
Northwest's Aaron Sawyer led seven different Eagles players in double figures with a game-high 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting from field, including a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. Kendrick Holley (18 points), Chase Van Cleave (15 points), Morgan Axley (13 points), Stephen Ismael (12 points), Chris Keller (10 points), and Brett Pflugrath (10 points) rounded out the Eagles' double-digit scorers.
With its 13th straight set back, Corban drops to 1-17 overall, 0-7 in Cascade Collegiate Conference action. Meanwhile, Northwest improves to 15-5 overall, 6-4 in CCC play. The Warriors will return home for its lone double header of January beginning next Friday, January 12th, when they host the Thunderbirds of Cascade beginning at 7:30 p.m. inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
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