Concordia Opens with Win over Multnomah Bible College
PORTLAND, Ore.— With all five starters reaching double figures in scoring, the Concordia University men’s basketball team opened its season with an 83-61 win over Multnomah Bible College.
“I think it’s a good start to our season,” Concordia head coach Brad Barbarick said. “We were inconsistent in our play in the first half, but our defense came through by stepping up in the second half.”
Steven Vaughan (Milwaukie, Ore.) and Matt Ochs (Clackamas, Ore.) led the Cavaliers with 18 points each. Ochs shot 8-of-10 from the floor and added nine rebounds while patrolling the paint.
Behind a 10-of-12 effort from the free throw line, the Lions’ Matt Nelson notched a game-high 22 points.
Defensively, the Cavs held MBC to 33 percent from the field while hitting 46 percent of their offensive chances despite a 6-of-23 effort from behind the three-point arc.
“It was nice to put the new uniforms on tonight and see some different combinations,” Barbarick said.
Concordia will compete in a pair of exhibition matches against NCAA Division I competition before hosting the Lutheran Invitational Tournament on Nov. 16-17. The Cavs will remain within the city limits to face the University of Portland on Nov. 3 and will travel to Eugene to take on the University of Oregon on Nov. 6 at McArthur Court.
“It will be a big test for us,” Barbarick said. “We look at it as a chance to play a top program and use it as a measuring stick to see where we will want to be.”