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.

AUGGIES DEFEAT PIPERS

The Hamline University men’s basketball team had four players in double-digit scoring, but it wasn’t enough offensively, as they fell to Augsburg by a score of 83-67.

A close, low-scoring opening ten minutes of play gave way to an Augsburg lead that extended to 10 points at halftime, 34-24.

The Pipers managed to close their deficit to five points several times during the second half, but each time the Auggies got the double-digit advantage back on the scoreboard. Augsburg stayed ahead to win the game, 83-67.

The Pipers were led by Tony Thrasher’s (Sr., Hustisford, Wis.) 18 points, while Dan Andersen (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn.) added 14. Two additional Pipers were in double-digits, as Max Van Ordstrand (Fy., Burnsville, Minn.) had 11 points and Stoddard Barnhill (Fy., Minneapolis, Minn.) had 10.

Nate Alm (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) led the Auggies with a game-high 24 points. A pair of Augsburg players, Jon Cassens (Jr., Prior Lake, Minn.) and Andy Grzesiak-Grimm (Fy., Wyoming, Minn.), added 10 apiece.

Hamline’s record is now 3-12, 2-8 MIAC with the conference loss. The Auggies move to 10-6, 8-3 MIAC. Hamline will remain home for their third straight conference contest, hosting Macalester on Saturday, January 24, at 3:00 p.m. The game will be the second in a women’s-men’s double-header against the Scots.

UNI TAKES ON BRADLEY

Winners of six straight, the University of Northern Iowa (12-6, 6-1 Missouri Valley Conference) hosts Bradley (11-7, 5-2 MVC) on Jan. 21 at the McLeod Center. The Panthers are in sole possession of first place in the Valley, while the Braves are one game back, in a tie for second.

JUMP BALLS

UNI improved to 6-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference with its 81-59 win at Drake Jan. 17. That is the Panthers’ best-ever start to MVC play, since joining the league in the 1991-92 season.

The Panthers have won six straight games entering this Wednesday’s game with Bradley. Prior to the current six-game winning streak, the last time UNI won six in a row was in the 2006-07 season, Ben Jacobson’s first year at the helm of the program. UNI’s last seven-game winning streak was in the 2005-06 campaign.

UNI tied its season-best with 11 three-pointers in its 81-59 win at Drake Jan. 17. The Panthers also tied their season-high with 26 three-point attempts versus the Bulldogs.

UNI had 17 assists and just four turnovers in its win over Drake Jan. 17. The 17 assists tied its second-best team total of the season, and the four turnovers were the second fewest UNI had in a game this year.

UNI enters this week with all five starters averaging double-figures in scoring. The Panthers are led by guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe at 11.4 ppg, followed by forward Adam Koch (10.9 ppg), guard Ali Farokhmanesh (10.4), guard Johnny Moran (10.3) and center Jordan Eglseder (10.2).- UNI has won its first four Missouri Valley Conference road games of the year, the first time in its 18-year membership in the league that it has claimed wins in its first four league road tilts. The most road wins UNI has ever had in one Missouri Valley Conference season is five, in the 2005-06 season.

The Panthers defense has been outstanding lately. In fact, UNI has held six of its last eight opponents to less than 40 percent field goal shooting, keeping four of those teams to 55 points or less. In the team’s first 10 games of the season, UNI had held just one foe to less than 40 percent shooting, and only one team to less than 55 points.

MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS HOPE TO REMAIN UNDEFEATED AS THEY FACE SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA

The University of Minnesota basketball team is currently 10-0 as they prepare to face Southeastern Louisiana Tuesday at Williams Arena.

Coming into the game, the Gophers are lead in scoring by Lawrence Westbrook who is averaging 12.8 points per game and Damian Johnson who averages 10.7.

The Gophers are coming into this game on emotional high after their 70-64 win over Louisville. The Cardinal’s were ranked No. 9 in the nation and with the win, the Gophers confidence has been buoyed.

Southeastern Louisiana is 6-4 coming into the game with the Gophers. In the only their only previous meeting on December 30, 2006, the Gophers won 63-61 on Spencer Tollackson’s tip in at the buzzer.

HAMLINE TAKING ON THE SAINTS OF ST. SCHOLASTICA

In a non-conference game, its St. Scholastica taking on Hamline University at Joe Hutton Arena in St Paul Minnesota. Hamline comes into this game with a 1-1 record. St. Scholastica is also 1-1.

As the game gets under way both Hamline and St Scholastica have started off playing in a tough man to man coverage.

There has been a good flow to the game early and both teams have looked well balanced. Both teams will have to go deep into their bench rotation if the pace of this game keeps up the way it has started.

With 12:37 left to go in the first half the score is Hamline 14 and St. Scholastica 6.

Hamline has come out of a time-out playing a little bit of a zone defense. It looks like they are going to mix it up with a bit of a 2-3 and a man. I am sure that the Pipers head coach Nelson Whitmore has told his kids to use every type of defense they can against these guys.

Hamline has taken some pretty quick shots in a 5-minute stretch. Hamline is getting the ball out of the basket and attacking the rack on the other end while St Scholastica is trying to play catch up.

Mike Mac Donald has entered the game for the Saints to do battle down in the low post with the Pipers big men. Mike is not afraid to get in there and bang. He is playing aggressively on the low block and he also can get out and run in the open court.

Both teams are diving on the floor for loose balls and really going after each other.

With 8:12 left to go in the first half St. Scholastica has taken a time out with the score Hamline 23 and St. Scholastica 15.

St Scholastica is trying to trap the ball in the corners on defense. Chris Hammers is playing well while the Saints penetrate to the basket when they are on offense. Hamline is not letting that happen to easily.

Both teams are flying around the court and doing a good job of catching and sweeping the ball. There has been good ball movement by each team. Troy Miller has a nice pump fake and has been able to fool his defenders on a couple occasions.

At half time the score is Hamline 33 and St. Scholastica 35. Hamline is shooting 52.2% from the field and St. Scholastica 44.8%.

As this second half gets underway both teams look fired up and ready to play. As both teams go hard at each other, Hamline is playing with a lot of poise.

Hamline has slowed the game down and is walking the ball up the court.

Mike MacDonald has reentered the game. He is playing aggressively, has really made some nice cuts to the basket and has just made a nice shot. He has shown why he will be one of the conferences big men to watch. He has made a number of silky-smooth moves.

Another guy that has been playing well is Danny Anderson who has made a couple of pretty shots. The game has gone back and forth and will probably come down to the wire. It is quite hot in gym tonight but we are bearing through it.

With 3:35 left to go in the game is Hamlin 62 and St. Scholastica 60.

Tony Thrasher has just come down and just hit a three pointer and that has put Hamline on a bit of run near the end of regulation.

In a very hard fought game, Hamline was able to come up with a 73-64 win tonight against a very good St. Scholastica team.

Leading scorer Chris Hammers had 17 points for St Scholastica and Mike Mac Donald ended with 5. Tony Thrasher and Eric Clute each had 10 points to lead Hamline in their victory.

NATIONAL SIGNING DATE FOR BASKETBALL IS NOVEMBER 12-NOVEMBER 19

The national early signing date for Men's Basketball is November 12th-November 19th 2008. If you know of a basketball player who is signing their national letter of intent during this period please send me an email at stevenmgr@hotmail.com.

PAUL CARTER LOOKING FORWARD TO HELPING THE GOHPERS

Paul Carter who went to West Great Plains Community College in Missouri was discovered by Tubby Smith at the Jerry Mullen’s 120 Elite Camp. Coach Smith was surprised with this play and overall ability.

Carter who is coming off sports related hernia surgery, has been getting used to college life and is looking forward to the upcoming season where he is being counted on to make a positive impact.

He is considered one of the leaders on this top recruiting class under Tubby Smith.