Gage Aker nearly tallied his second triple-double of the season
Concordia Stymies College of Idaho 103-64
BOX SCORE
PORTLAND, Ore. – Gage Aker tallied game-highs with 21 points, 15 rebounds and two assists as the Cavaliers shot 58.7 percent from the field in a dominant 103-64 Cascade Collegiate Conference men’s basketball victory over College of Idaho Friday night at Cavalier Gymnasium.
Win the win, the Cavaliers improve to 8-14 overall, 2-9 in the CCC. College of Idaho falls to 11-12 overall and 8-4 in conference play.
The teams exchanged three-point plays to open the game before CU opened a 20-2 run over the next five minutes. The Cavaliers took a 10-point lead at 15-5, and the Coyotes never pulled within single digits the rest of the way. With 8:15 remaining in the first half, CU led 39-24 on 78.9 percent shooting (15-of-19) from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. By halftime, Concordia led 52-33 on 20-of-35 shooting, led by Drew Preuninger’s 4-of-4 from beyond the arc for 14 points.
Aker tallied eight rebounds and five assists in the half but struggled with his shooting, making only two of seven shot attempts from the field. He more than made up for it in the second half, sinking all five shots he took, as well as going 4-of-4 from the free throw line, with seven rebounds and three assists.
College of Idaho pulled to within 16 points with 18:34 to play on Duncan Koga’s three-pointer, but the Cavs scored 10 of the next 11 points to go ahead by 25 at 66-41. Dustin Hiebert’s three-pointer with 6:21 remaining pushed the lead beyond 30 points at 92-60, part of a 13-0 run by CU. A pair of Aker free throws pushed the Cavs into triple digits with 2:54 remaining, and Aker left the game moments later to a loud ovation by the crowd.
Concordia connected on 37-of-63 shot attempts in the game, including 10-of-17 from beyond the arc. Aker (Portland, Ore./Wilson H.S.) finished 7-of-12 from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 at the charity stripe, and added three steals and a block to his near-triple-double performance.
Six other Cavaliers reached double figures, led by Preuninger’s (Camas, Wash./Camas H.S.) 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Adam Herman (Vancouver, Wash./Prairie H.S.) tallied 16 points, Hiebert (Dallas, Ore./Dallas H.S.) shot 4-of-5 from three-point range in scoring 15 points and Jourdan Sweeney (Los Angeles, Calif./St. Bernard H.S.) added 11. Kevan West (Vancouver, Wash./Prairie H.S.) and Austin Dunn (Vancouver, Wash./Mountain View H.S.) combined to shoot 8-of-13 from the field as each scored 10 for CU.
“We have gone through a lot of adversity this season but this team continues to put in a lot of hard work,” CU head coach Brad Barbarick said. “They continue to have a positive attitude and truly believe good things are going to happen.”
Four Coyotes tallied double-digits in the scoring column, led by a three-way tie between Steve Peres, Sean Spooner and Tyler Young with 11 each. Kelly McCarty finished with 10 points for C of I.
Concordia returns to action tomorrow night when the Cavaliers host Eastern Oregon in a CCC men’s game scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.