Fiegi leads Warriors to upset victory over Southern Oregon

February 18, 2006

BOX SCORE

Senior Joel Worcester scored 5 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and handed out 4 assists, while fellow senior All-American and reigning NAIA DII POW Eric Fiegi (pictured left) scored 62.2% of the Warriors' 53 points.

ASHLAND, Ore. – Senior All-American Eric Fiegi (Medford, Ore.) returned to the area where he grew up and led all players with 33 points and 20 rebounds, as Corban’s men’s basketball team upset the NAIA’s No. 9-ranked Red Raiders of Southern Oregon, 53-52, to secure the sixth seed in the Cascade Collegiate Conference post-season tournament.

Fiegi’s 10-foot lean-in jumper with 2.9 seconds remaining lifted Corban (16-13 overall, 10-8 CCC) to its first victory in McNeal Pavilion since 2003 and thwarted the Red Raiders’ chances for a second straight conference regular season co-championship.

The 6-foot-9 South Medford High School graduate scored 62.2% of the Warriors’ points on 13-for-24 shooting from the field, including a season-high 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 4-for-9 from the free throw line.

The Warriors came back from a 50-45 deficit with 3:40 remaining and a 52-49 hole with 1:37 left.  Fiegi pulled Corban within one on an inside jumper with 1:17 to go, and Raider post Jeff Williams missed a pair of free throws with 23 second left, helping set the stage for Fiegi’s heroics.

Freshman Jason Braun (Dallas, Ore.) and senior Joel Worcester (Eugene, Ore.) were the closest point scorers to Fiegi with 6 and 5 points respectively, while Worcester and freshman Jason Klontz (Redmond, Ore.) grabbed 4 rebounds each.

Southern Oregon (23-7 overall, 12-6 CCC) was led by senior All-American Shea Washington’s 22 points and 14 rebounds, while Steve Farley and Matt Espinoza added 13 and 6 points.

The Warriors shot 20-for-51 (39.2%) from the field, while the Red Raiders sputtered to a season-low 31.3% (20-for-64) shooting from the field.

Corban began the game on a 14-7 run before SOU used an 11-0 run to take a 7-point lead (21-14) before both teams battled to a 22-all halftime deadlock.  The second half featured four ties and nine lead changes.

The Warriors return to action on Wednesday, February 22nd, when they face the tournament’s No. 3-seeded Hustlin’ Owls of Oregon Tech beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Klamath Falls.