By Ray Hamill — Trey Neff showed just why he’s the reigning conference MVP with a clutch performance in the Corsairs’ conference opener against Butte at College of the Redwoods in men’s basketball on Saturday afternoon.

In what was an exciting and highly-entertaining Golden Valley Conference opener between the two teams that have placed first and second in conference play in each of the past three seasons, there was little to separate them for much of the afternoon.

With the Roadrunners holding a three-point lead in the final seconds of regulation, Neff nailed a deep 3-pointer to force the extra period and the Corsairs would outscore Butte 13-10 down the stretch to pull out a pivotal 83-80 victory.

“What an incredible basketball game to be a part of,” CR head coach Ryan Bisio said. “Both teams putting it all on the line for 45 minutes. Butte played with such force and we kept finding ways to counterpunch.”

Neff scored a team-high 26 points, including four 3s, as the Corsairs improved to 1-0 in the GVC and 11-8 overall.

Check out Neff’s game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation above …

“Trey’s 3 to send it to overtime showed everybody who he is. The reigning conference MVP,” the CR coach added of the 2022/23 all-state selection. “When we were on the brink, he emerged with a calm that great players possess.”

Coming against a Butte team expected to challenge for the conference championship this winter, the win was huge for a CR team that is looking to secure an historic fourth straight conference crown.

The two teams were tied 39-39 at halftime and there was never more than six points between them in the second half.

“Butte presented unique challenges for our defense and the fact that we were tied at the half felt very fortunate,” Bisio said. “But we found that going small gave us the space to take some weight off our defense.”

Ty Neff added 15 points for the CR men, who continued to impress from downtown and had nine 3s.

Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Saturday’s game.

Mason Mottashed added 13 points for the home team, while Marvelous Owens scored a game-high 28 points for Butte, which dropped to 0-1 in conference and 9-10 

With sophomore standout Jett Cheong forced to the bench for the second half because of injury, Mottashed was instrumental in the win.

“Mason Mottashed won the game for us in a lot of ways,” Bisio said of the talented freshmen guard from El Dorado, who nailed a couple of game-clinching 3s in overtime. “After Jett went out, Mason came in and played with supreme confidence. Those dagger 3s he hit in overtime display who he is to the core. I’m so happy for him.”

Next up, the Corsairs will play at Lassen on Thursday.

Lassen is 6-14 on the season and 1-1 in the GVC.