Concordia's Steven Vaughn had a game-high 22 points on Saturday night.
Cascade Cuts Off Concordia Rally
PORTLAND, Ore.—After going up by 28 points in the first half, Cascade College had to hold on in the finals minutes as Concordia charged back to within three in the final moments before claiming a 78-73 win on Saturday night.
With the result, Cascade improved to 8-6 on the year and 1-5 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play while Concordia dropped to 7-10 with a 2-6 mark in the CCC,
The Thunderbirds fired at a 60 percent clip in the first half to mount a 43-19 lead entering intermission. Cascade received seven different players in the opening period, including nine from Erving Adams. Meanwhile, Concordia, fresh off a win against No. 10 Warner Pacific, sunk just seven field goals in the first half after shooting 23 percent from the floor.
The Cavaliers trailed by 28 with just under two minutes to play in the first, but four connections from the free throw line to end the half with a 43-19 deficit.
Coming out of the locker room, Concordia compiled a 21-12 run out of the gate to cut the Thunderbird lead to 55-42. A second charge, capped by a Matt Ochs jumper with six minutes to play would get the Cavs back to a single-digit discrepancy with the score 69-59.
The hot shooting continued down the stretch as Concordia trimmed the margin to three with an 11-3 attack highlighted by consecutive Ochs baskets and a Dustin Hiebert three.
The Thunderbirds followed with two free throw makes by Kao Saelee for a 75-70 lead with 30 seconds in remaining in regulation. Another Saelee free throw would make it a six-point game with eight seconds to play to keep it a two possession game. Hiebert would drain his third three from five feet behind the arc to make it a 76-73 contest, but Ben Pawlak would cancel any long-ranged last-second tying attempts with a pair of makes at the charity stripe for the 78-73 finale.
Concordia’s Steven Vaughan led all scorers with 22 points. Adams posted 18 points on a 7 of 10 night from the floor for the Thunderbird lead.
Concordia returns to action on Jan. 16 when it travels to The College of Idaho (7-8, 3-2 CCC). Opening tip is set for 7:30 p.m. in Caldwell, Idaho. Cascade will host Oregon Tech (17-1, 7-1 CCC) on Jan. 16 in Portland.