Men's Baskesball: Masten Masterful Against Orediggers of Montana Tech

Corban returns to action on Wednesday, December 19th, when they continue Cascade Collegiate Conference play against first-year member Northwest Christian.

Inset photo: Junior Kyle Masten notched a career-high in points to earn Wildhorse Classic MVP honors, as Corban defeated Montana Tech en route to notching its second straight win. (Photo courtesy of Nisha Strauch, Corban basketball photographer)

WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Junior Kyle Masten (Salem, Ore.) shot an amazing 11-for-12 from the field, including a perfect 8-for-8 from 3-point land, en route to scoring a career-high 31 points as Corban's men's basketball team defeated Montana Tech, 83-68, Saturday at the Wildhorse Resort Classic.

With Masten making all eight of his 3-point shots and scoring a game-high in points, Corban ran past Montana Tech to claim the championship trophy of Whitman's 13th annual Wildhorse Resort Classic.

Corban, now 5-7 on the season, opened the three-team tournament Friday night with an 82-73 victory over host Whitman. Montana Tech and Whitman wrap up the tourney at 6:00 PM Sunday in Sherwood Center.

Montana Tech, who drops to 4-7 on the season, held a 35-33 halftime lead in Saturday night's game, but Masten drilled six of his 3-pointers in the second half as Corban quickly moved in front and stayed there. Masten, who stroked a career-best 11-of-12 from the floor overall, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player while senior Hannes Gehring (Lake Oswego, Ore.), who had 28 points and 10 rebounds in Corban's two weekend wins, was also named to the all-tournament team.

In hitting eight 3-pointers, Masten set a new tournament record for most treys in one game. As a team, Corban was 14-of-25 (56.0%) from long range, which tied the tournament team record for one game. Whitman had 14 3-pointers in a 1996 game against Okanogan College.

Masten was one of four Warriors scoring in double figures against Montana Tech, while freshman Clay Martin (Beaverton, Ore.) had 14 points to go along with Gehring and freshman Ian Logan (Aloha, Ore.) who each had 10. Logan also had six rebounds and five assists.

Montana Tech's Dusan Veselinovic led the Orediggers with 14 points. The 6-foot-9 junior made four of his six 3-point shots. Casey Briggs notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Tony Trudnowski chipped in with 12 points and five boards, and Jeramie Hopson added 10 points.

Corban returns to action on Wednesday, December 19th, when they continue Cascade Collegiate Conference play against first-year member Northwest Christian beginning at 7:30 PM inside the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.

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