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Eagles Come from Behind to Deny Corban Upset Bid

SALEM, Ore. – The No. 15 ranked Northwest University overcame an upset bid as they came from behind to defeat Corban 56-45 in a low scoring conference game tonight.

Northwest U. (18-4, 8-2 CCC) came out in the first half hitting their first five shots, all by Michael Russo to take an 11-5 lead. But then the Eagles would go cold and Corban would heat up and go on a 9-0 run to take the lead 14-11 with 8:54 left in the half. NU would manage 8 for 30 shooting in the half for 27%. The Eagles would re-take the lead, 15-14 on a Michael Greene layup but a 3 pointer by Jacob Kopra and basket by Marcus Butler would give the lead back to the Warriors, 19-15 with 6:52 on the clock. Northwest would regain the lead briefly after a 3 point play by Russo, 21-20, but Corban would outscore NU 6-1 to end the half with a 26-22 lead.

Corban would take a 9 point, 35-26 lead after a Dustin Moore 3 pointer (16:33) and would maintain their lead for the next 12 minutes. With 6:14 to go, Brett Skogstad would hit a key 3 pointer to pull the Eagles to within two, 41-39, followed by a Michael Russo trey which would give the Eagles their first lead since halfway through the first period, 42-41, with 6:31 remaining. Nemanja Grujicic would lay the ball in to increase the lead to 44-41 and he would follow that up with a crucial steal on a Corban inbound pass, and dribble the length of the floor for a dunk to make it 46-41 at the 3:00 mark. Marcus Butler would drive to the basket for a score to cut the NU lead to 3, but Brett Skogstad would answer with a clutch 3 pointer from the top of the key to make it a two possession lead with 1:38 remaining. Northwest would hit 4 of 5 free throws down the stretch to clinch their 18th victory of the season.

Northwest U. was led by Michael Russo’s 20 point, 6 rebound game after missing last weekend’s game with back spasms. Michael Greene would notch his 11th double-double of the season with 14 points and a game and season high 17 rebounds. Brett Skogstad came off the bench to score 9 points for the Eagles. NU held the edge on rebounds with a 46-33 margin including 11 offensive boards.

Corban (6-12, 2-8 CCC) had two players in double figures with Andrew Evans and Marcus Butler both scoring 13 points on the night. The Warriors shot 31% for the hitting 18 of 58 shots.

“It was a real test for us tonight as Corban is a tough team to play, especially at home” commented John Van Dyke, Eagle head coach. I was proud of how we responded in the second half. It was a good effort defensively and it was that effort that helped us win on a night when we didn’t shoot particularly well. It’s time to rest and get ready for Northwest Christian tomorrow.”

NU heads to Eugene to play the Beacons at Northwest Christian. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

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Posted on Friday, January 18, 2013 Share on Facebook