CU's Drew Preuninger scored a team-high 14 points on Friday.
Concordia Sinks California Maritime 87-74
BOX SCORE
PORTLAND, Ore. – Eight Concordia players scored at least eight points as the Cavaliers defeated California Maritime 87-74 in a non-conference men’s basketball game Friday night at Cavalier Gymnasium.
The win improves Concordia’s record to 2-0. California Maritime drops to 1-4 with the loss.
The visitors scored first and led 4-2 one minute into the contest, but Dustin Hiebert’s layup tied the score at 17:54 and the Cavaliers never trailed again. California Maritime was within three points at 16-13 seven minutes into the game, but the Cavs scored the next six points and reached their first double-digit lead at 24-14 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
Twice the visitors pulled within eight over the following four minutes, but Concordia closed out the half with a 44-31 lead. The Cavaliers shot 45.7 percent (16-35) from the field in the period, while California Maritime connected on 36.7 percent (11-30) of their attempts.
In the second half, the Cavaliers’ lead bounced between 13 and 21 points, as both teams scored 43 to reach a final of 87-74. California Maritime attempted more than twice as many shots from the field as Concordia, making 15 of 43 attempts from the field for a 34.9 shooting percentage in the half. The Cavaliers made 12 of 21 shots from the field, a 57.1 percentage.
The Cavaliers finished the game with 10 more free throws made than the visitors, as CU shot 26-of-43 from the charity stripe to California Maritime’s 16-of-28. Drew Preuninger (Camas, Wash./Camas H.S.) scored a team-high 14 for the Cavs, while CMA’s Ryan Pearson and Haven Piatt tallied 15 each to tie for the most in the contest. David Prendeble posted a double-double for the visitors, with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
“It was a solid win for us. I was pleased with our defense and we were aggressive offensively,” CU head coach Brad Barbarick said. “We have a lot of weapons and we got to use them today. We have been extremely happy with this group. They are supporting one another and have been comfortable and confidant in the roles we ask them to play.
Gage Aker (Portland, Wash./Wilson H.S.) finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while CU’s Jourdan Sweeney (Los Angeles, Calif./St. Bernard H.S.) and Kevan West (Vancouver, Wash./Prairie H.S.) also contributed 11 points. Daniel Scheetz (Phoenix, Ariz./Shadow Mountain H.S.) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds for Concordia and also scored eight points.
Concordia returns to action tomorrow, when the Cavaliers host Simpson in a game scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
“We played Simpson last year and had one of our best performances of the season. They can shoot the ball well from beyond the arc and will be fired up coming into our gym,” Barbarick said.