|
Douglas paces Warriors in loss to NAIA's No. 6 Oregon Tech
February 16, 2007
 |
Sophomore Wade Douglas scored a team-high 19 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field tonight in Corban's loss to nationally-ranked Oregon Tech. (Photo courtesy of Josh Randolph) |
SALEM, Ore. -
Sophomore Wade Douglas (Ontario, Ore.) scored a team-high 19 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field, but it was not enough as Corban's men's basketball team fell, 84-68, to the NAIA's No. 6-ranked Hustlin' Owls of Oregon Tech on Friday.
The Warriors hung with their nationally-ranked opponents for the first five minutes, as the host team trailed by three (10-7) following a conventional 3-point play by Douglas. Over the next two minutes, Oregon Tech began to pull away for good thanks to a 7-0 run that gave the Hustlin' Owls their first double digit lead (17-7) with 13:12 remaining. The largest deficit that Corban faced in the opening half was 18 points (35-17) with 6:02 to go following a lay-up by OIT's Joshua Garrett. Over the final six minutes, Corban outscored OIT by a mere point (10-9) to trail by 17 (44-27) at the break.
Out of the locker room, Douglas caught fire as he opened the second half a perfect 4-for-4 from the field in the first three minutes via a lay-in and three jumpers in the paint. Unfortunately, Oregon Tech's high octane offense began to get to Corban and saw the Warriors fall behind by as much as 23 (64-41) with 11:31 remaining in the game. The host Warriors never gave up and cut the deficit to as much as 13 points (80-67) following a 3-point basket by junior J.D. Hill (Lebanon, Ore.) with 2:48 left. With thoughts of a possible upset in the making, Corban ran into a second opponent -- the clock -- as Oregon Tech began to whittle away at the 35-second shot clock during each possession and did not allow the Warriors an opportunity to spoil the night's final tally.
Along with Douglas' team-high point total, Hill and fellow junior Hannes Gehring (Lake Oswego, Ore.) added 12 and 11 points respectively, while Gehring pulled down a game-high 9 rebounds. Douglas and a pair of Warriors -- Hill and freshman Ryan Johnson (Valrico, Fla.) -- aided Gehring on the boards with 7 and 6 rebounds respectively.
As a team, Corban shot 23-for-61 (37.7%) from the field, including a 18-for-26 (69.2%) performance at the free throw line. Meanwhile, Oregon Tech shot 33-for-74 (44.6%) from the field, including 13-for-16 (81.3%) from the charity stripe. The two teams combined to shoot 9-for-40 (22.5%) from beyond the arc, as Corban connected on four long distance shots and Oregon Tech made five 3-pointers.
Oregon Tech was led by Levell Hesia's game-high 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field, while Garrett and Ryan Fiegi, younger brother of former Warrior All-American Eric Fiegi, added 17 and 16 points respectively. Fiegi and Danny Mills led the Hustlin' Owls with 6 rebounds each, while Brent Johnson and Garrett grabbed 4 board apiece.
With the loss, Corban falls to 4-25 overall, 2-15 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, Oregon Tech pushes its winning streak to eight games to improve to 26-3 overall, 14-3 in CCC action. The Warriors will conclude its season tomorrow night (Saturday, February 17th) when they host the Red Raiders of Southern Oregon beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the lovely confines of the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
NOTE: Three seniors -- Kevin Van Hook (Silverdale, Wash.), Brad Reynoso (Salem, Ore.), and Nate Morris (Dufur, Ore.) -- and one junior -- Hill -- will be recognized in a pre-game ceremony prior to tomorrow night's tip-off with Southern Oregon.
|
