Jeff Sego piloted a Cavalier offfense which committed just six turnovers against the No. 10 Knights.
Concordia Upsets No. 10 Warner Pacific
PORTLAND, Ore.— The Concordia men’s basketball team trailed for just over two minutes in the game, as the Cavaliers grinded out a 75-69 contest against 10th-ranked Warner Pacific in Cascade Collegiate Conference action on Friday night.
With the win, Concordia improved to 7-9 on the year and 2-5 in the CCC while Warner Pacific dropped to 12-3 and 5-2 in league play.
Warner Pacific’s Kenan Dizdarevic opened the game with a layup and follow-up free throw for a quick 3-0 lead for the road team, but the Cavs used a 15-2 run which included a trio of three-point blasts to create a 10-point lead midway through the first half and never relinquished the lead as Concordia defended its home court against the highly ranked cross-town rivals.
Down 15-5, the Knights would retaliate with seven straight, including back-to-back buckets in the paint by Adam Moore to cut the deficit to three, but it would be as close as they would get in the first half as CU re-upped its lead to a double-digit figure on three more occasions in the first period, eventually settling for a 40-30 margin at the half.
The Cavs would increase its advantage to 13, the largest of the game, on a Steven Vaughan layup with 17:23 left, but from there the Knights would slowly chip away at the gap.
A quick eight-point streak, culminating with a Dizdarevic three, brought WPC to within four points with the score 45-41 at the 15:17 mark. The cross-town rivals would trade baskets throughout the next 10 minutes of game time with Warner Pacific finally taking advantage by closing the difference to a 66-64 affair via a Dizdarevic free throw with four minutes to play.
The Cavs limited the Knights to a pair of field goals the rest of the way while four consecutive free throws, two each by Vaughan and Desmond Meray, would give Concordia some breathing room in the final moments for the 75-69 win.
Vaughan picked up 22 points after connecting on 7 of 12 attempts from the field while Meray and Alex Tiefenthaler each netted 19 in the cause. A game after setting a school record with 19 rebounds, Tiefenthaler came back with 13 boards for his fifth ‘double double’ in his last six games. Jeff Sego added nine points and a game-high seven assists.
Dizdarevic posted 22 points, one ahead of Moore, who converted 8 of 17 from the field. Kaylone Riley recorded 20 rebounds, nine points, four assists and three blocks for the Knights.
Warner Pacific held a 47-37 advantage in rebounds but turned the ball over 15 times compared to just six giveaways for the Cavaliers.
Concordia returns to action on Jan. 10 when it hosts Cascade College at 7:30 p.m. The Knights travel to Corban College to continue CCC play.