LEWISTON, ID – Seventh-seeded Corban (Ore.) outlasted No. 23 LC State Men’s Basketball to continue its Cinderella run through the postseason. The Corban Warriors forced overtime en route to an 87-84 victory over LC State.
Both Warrior teams will advance to the 2026 NAIA Men’s Basketball Championship First and Second Rounds as LC State earned the first bid with the regular season title, and Corban took the second with the tournament win.
“Credit to Corban. They were the tougher team and very deserving of the win,” coach Austin Johnson said. “We were really out of sorts defensively which showed in their field goal percentage and total points. Our guys have responded at a high level all year and I have no doubt we’ll respond the right way moving forward as we prepare for the national tournament.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
The contest was back-and-forth from the start. Jamare’ Childs and John Lustig combined for the first six points for a 6-2 edge, but Corban rallied to pull ahead 15-9.
Corban held a slim lead until a 3 by Dylan Skaife and three-point play by Lustig had LC State in front 34-33 at 3:12. Brandon Suber added five points and Skaife netted another triple in the final two minutes to send LC State into the locker room with a 41-39 edge.
Childs knocked down a 3-pointer to keep LC State in front for a moment in the second half. The lead continued to change hands with neither team leading by more than one point until Corban scored back-to-back baskets to stretch the margin to 60-57 at 10:11.
A layup by Grayson Hunt knotted the score 72-72 with 2:16 left to play as the two teams continued to battle for a sizeable advantage. Layups by Lustig and Suber had LC State ahead 76-74, but a last-second shot by Corban’s Tj Zimmermann sent the game into overtime.
The Corban Warriors took a 78-76 lead to start the extra frame, and a flurry of baskets and free throws grew the margin to 85-79 in the final minute. Peyton Nordland struck for five points in the final 20 seconds to keep the score within three, but LC State couldn’t surpass Corban.
STAT RECAP
Hunt led LC State and tied his career high with 22 points on nine field goals and Lustig tallied a game-high eight rebounds and five assists to go with 19 points. Skaife and Suber each tallied 12 points and Nordland added 11.
Hunt and Suber each grabbed seven boards, Suber dished out three assists and Skaife had two steals.
LC State shot 46.2% from the field, but Corban had the edge with a 50% mark.
UP NEXT
LC State will travel for the NAIA First and Second Rounds Mar. 13-14. The tournament field will be revealed on Thursday.
