Albany, OR – The Linn-Benton men’s basketball team defeated the Corban University Gold team on Tuesday, November 28 by a score of 106-67 at the Linn-Benton Activities Center.
With the Roadrunners improving their record to 2-1, the Warriors fell to 0-1 with a loss in their opening game of the season.
The Beaks had the lead from start to finish, scoring on their opening possession – just 15 seconds into the game. This, when LB’s Cade Smith knocked down a three-point shot. The Warriors would not score until almost four minutes had elapsed as Brodin Tuning scored with a two-point jump shot.
At that point, the Warriors already trailed 9-2; the Beaks would further expand their lead to 16-2 thanks to two more layups from Smith. Smith, a freshman, is quickly turning into one of the Roadrunners’ most reliable scorers, and the 6-foot-4 Tigard product is averaging 14.0 points per game in the young season.
The Warriors were unable to stop Linn-Benton from seemingly scoring at-will in the first half, as the Roadrunners were able to rack up 55 points on 18-32 shooting, which was bolstered by 14-17 free throw shooting. This compares favorably to the Warriors’ 8-31 performance from the field in the first half.
Smith scored 11 of LB’s first 20 points, and finished adding to his tally when the Roadrunners found themselves with a 73-30 advantage with 15:11 to play in the game. His performance was augmented by the scoring of TJ Zimmermann, who logged 17 points in first half play on 5-8 shooting from the field with six rebounds and 6-7 shooting from the three-point line.
Shortly after Smith’s buckets, with 14:45 remaining in the second half, Zimmermann, Smith and Tre Cannon would leave the game for good with the final outcome already decided.
It was after this that the Warriors were able to slow down the Beaks’ scoring, as the final margin of 39 points was little different from the 43-point advantage enjoyed by the Roadrunners when the trio left the game.
The Warriors would go on to score 45 points in the second half of the contest, more than double their 22 points in the first, thanks to Brady Rassmussen’s nine points and Adrien Barba’s identical nine-point contribution.
For the game, the Beaks’ leading scorer was Zimmermann with 24 points, eight rebounds, and two assists, while Smith threw in 19 points and 12 rebounds. Reserve player Davion Burdette logged a season-high 14 points to go along with three rebounds.
Overall, the Roadrunners shot 39-70, a scorching 55.7%, while the Warriors finished 24-63, or 38.1%. Perhaps most striking of all was the rebound differential, which saw LB collect 48 rebounds to the Warriors’ 27. Turnovers were similar for the two teams, as the Roadrunners had 11 and Corban had 14.
LB will look to build upon this performance as they gear up for conference play, which begins at Blue Mountain Community College on Friday, December 1 at 7:00 p.m.
