GOLDEN BEARS CONTINUE MIDSEASON REBOUND,OUTLAST U-MARY

The Concordia University men's basketball team (8-10, 6-5 NSIC) used 21 offensive rebounds and a 46-27 rebounding advantage to outmuscle the University of Mary (5-13, 3-8 NSIC) in a 75-64 victory at the Gangelhoff Center. Concordia had six players score at least eight points and three in double-figures in the balanced win. Five players also dished at least three assists for the home team. Concordia has now won back-to-back games and has moved into the top eight for the race to the NSIC Tournament.

The Marauders held an early five point edge with the first five points of the game in the opening 80 seconds of action. But a quick 7-2 Concordia run tied things up three minutes later.

The teams fought for the lead for the next few minutes as the game saw three ties and three lead changes before the Golden Bears finally took the lead for good with a Mike Cunningham layup at the 13:07 mark. Cunningham, a junior guard from Minneapolis, Minn., finished with 14 points, 11 coming in the first half. He also added eight rebounds (five offensive), six assists and two steals.

Concordia led by as much as 11 in the first half but the Marauders were able to stick around, closing the gap to five late in the half before going into the locker room with CU holding a 39-32 lead. The Marauders stayed close thanks to 50.0% (13-26) shooting in the opening frame while the Golden Bears were 45.2% (14-31) from the floor but hit 9-11 at the foul line.

In the second half, Concordia brought the lead back to double-digits early as sophomore Matt Hackl (Seymour, Wis.) converted a layup on a fastbreak to give the host a 45-35 edge.

But the Marauders fought back again, closing the gap to four, 48-44 at 14:41.

That's when junior forward Craig Heiman (Marshall, Wis.) stepped up, knocking down a three-pointer as he scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half. He also finished with seven rebounds and three assists.

The Marauders would come no closer than the seven point margin the rest of the way, as Concordia led by as much as 15 points late in the game before closing out their guests.

Concordia's rebounding advantage was key, extending numerous possessions with offensive rebounds. Sophomore center Drew Votis (Peshtigo, Wis.) led Concordia with nine rebounds, four coming on the offensive end. It was a career-high for the 6-11 big man, who also scored three points while playing 20 minutes.
Six players had at least five rebounds on the night compared to U-Mary, who had two players collect exactly five rebounds.

Junior guard Sammy Ricks (St. Paul, Minn.) was the third player in double-figures for CU with 13 points. He also had six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

For the second straight night, Concordia had a productive bench, scoring 22 tonight to follow-up last night's 32 point output. Senior guard Matt Cadwell's (St. Paul, Minn.) nine points, five rebounds and three assists paced the reserves while junior forward Thomas Bassett (Denison, Iowa) added eight points with sophomore Andrew Kuderer (Eden Prairie, Minn.) adding five. Kuderer also had five rebounds and three assists in extensive play.

The Marauders had three players reach double-figures offensively led by Jason West's 12 points while Zach Dosch and Geoff West added 10 apiece.

Concordia returns to the road to close out January after picking up their first two wins of the month this weekend. They will travel to face Augustana (7-4 NSIC) and Wayne State (4-7) next Friday and Saturday in key NSIC matchups.