Meray's Season High Boosts Concordia to 4th Straight Victory
PORTLAND, Ore—Backed by a season-high 33 points by Desmond Meray, the Concordia University men’s basketball team extended its longest winning streak of the season with a 90-76 dispatching of Corban College on Tuesday.
With the win, Concordia (10-10, 6-5 CCC) moved back to the .500 mark for the first time in over a month. The Cavs have won four consecutive contests and 5-of-6 games immediately following five straight setbacks which dropped CU to 5-9 on Jan. 5.
Corban dropped to 7-14 on the season and 2-9 in Cascade Collegiate Conference action.
“It’s been fun to get in a rhythm with this team the last few games,” Concordia coach Brad Barbarick said. “We have a cohesive group that has stayed focused through some of the earlier losses, but now we have to go on the road and hopefully this momentum will carry over for us against a very good Northwest Christian team this Saturday.”
Despite 19 first-half points by Meray (Spanaway, Wash./Bethel H.S.), the Cavaliers could not create a gap over the pesky Warriors until the second period. After an opening 20 minutes that featured nine lead changes, Concordia unleashed a 26-10 run to star the second for a commanding 19-point lead with 12 minutes remaining.
Adding 14 points in the second period, Meray finished with 33 points after shooting 11-of-18 from the field and 5-of-8 from three-point range. Meray also tied a season high in assists with six and set a season-high with four steals.
“One thing we wanted to do after the half was to put on some pressure and disrupt them,” Meray said. “Getting them on their heels helped boost out offense.”
Cody Aker (Portland, Ore./Wilson H.S.) and Ryan Johnson (Vancouver, Wash./Evergreen H.S.) also reached double figures in scoring for the Cavs with Aker recording 13 and Johnson netting 10 for his fourth straight game reaching the mark. Taking care of the ball, Jesse Alvarez (Guadalupe, Calif./Righetti H.S.) tallied seven assists while committing one turnover in 27 minutes of court time.
Corban held the lead several times in the first half, creating as large as a five-point margin on two occasions. Hannes Gehring (Lake Oswego, Ore./Lake Oswego H.S.) led the Warriors with 18 points via 6-of-9 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the free throw line.
Aided by 15 steals, Concordia forced the Warriors into 20 turnovers while limiting their own miscues to 15.
Concordia will face Northwest Christian College on Saturday, Jan. 26 in Eugene, Ore. The day before, Corban will make the same trip to play the Beacons. Opening tip is set for 7:20 p.m. for both matches.