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The Corsairs delivered in a game they absolutely needed to win on Saturday afternoon.

Just two days after they got the better of then conference leaders Butte to complete the conference sweep, the College of the Redwoods men traveled to play last-placed Siskiyous and came away with a gritty 79-73 win to move clear atop the Golden Valley Conference with two games remaining.

The CR men are 6-2 in conference, while Butte is 5-2.

It wasn’t their best performance of the season, but in the spirit of championship teams they found a way to prevail.

“This was the exact type of game we wanted to prove to ourselves we can win,” CR head coach Ryan Bisio said. “A gritty road game on the fourth day of a road trip.

“We really seized the opportunity to prove that we can win big games when we aren’t performing at our best.”

Redwoods led by just one (39-38) at halftime and made just six 3-pointers for the game, well down from the team’s 12.2 average.

Mason Mottashed set the tone offensively and finished with a team-high 23 points, but the game remained in the balance until late.

“The fight and guts we showed down the stretch was sensational,” Bisio said. “We had great composure and played with championship level focus. I’m so proud that our guys feel this type of affirmation.”

Mottashed was hugely influential in the victory.

“Mason Mottashed played with supreme passion and he guided us with his leadership and big play ability,” Bisio said.  “What an example for all of our freshmen to see a sophomore, our leader, take such ownership of the moment.”

Former Fortuna Husky Alfonso Medina also had a big game and added 16 points for CR, while teammate Isai Sow chipped in 11 points.

The Corsairs can claim a remarkable fourth conference title in five seasons with a win in each of their last two games, both at home.

They play Feather River on Saturday at 1 p.m., before closing out the regular season against Lassen the following Tuesday.

CR is now 19-7 overall and holds a tiebreaker advantage over Butte after sweeping the conference series against the Roadrunners.

Butte hosts Siskiyous on Wednesday, before traveling to play Shasta and Feather River to close conference play.