CU's Adam Herman led the floor with 21 points on Friday night after hitting all nine attempts from the floor.
Cavs Down Bruins 88-70 Behind a Hot-Shooting First Half
STATS - Concordia vs. George Fox
PORTLAND, Ore.—In a first half to remember, the Concordia men’s basketball team shot an astounding 70 percent from the floor to run out to an early lead against the George Fox Bruins on Saturday. Consequently, all that was left to be determined in the second half was the final score, which ended 88-70 in the Cavs’ favor.
Everything was going in for the Cavs in the first half as the team made 21-of-30 shots from the floor, including four-of-six from beyond the three-point line. The Cavs got plenty of easy buckets too, recording 30 points in the paint in the first half alone.
The Cavalier offense, not surprisingly, started fast, using a 17-2 run early to separate themselves from the visiting Bruins. The hot start forced George Fox (0-1) to call a timeout with 12:12 remaining, already down 23-7.
Besides a couple of three-pointers from Drew Preuninger, the Cavs successfully got the ball inside during the stretch, making four lay-ups.
Concordia didn’t let up afterwards, either, going on another devastating spurt after only a short reprieve for the Bruins. Jourdan Sweeney’s lay-up with 4:50 remaining in the first capped the team’s second run of the half after Concordia had outscored the Bruins 18-4 for a 43-14 lead.
Both teams played evenly for the remainder of the half though a late offensive rebound gave the Cavs a chance at the final shot. Concordia took advantage of the chance with a good set play that got Marquis Matthews a three from the left baseline off an assist from Anthony Holton with only three seconds to go. That made it 50-25 at the half and gave Concordia what little momentum they didn’t already have.
The Cavs started strong again in the second as Adam Herman led the way with nine quick points, which included his second three-point play of the game. Herman would end up with a game-high 21 points on the night, while shooting a perfect nine-for-nine from the floor.
George Fox picked up its play later in the half, using a 13-5 run of their own to narrow the CU lead to 75-54 with 8:19 remaining. Three different Bruins made a three-pointer during the stretch as George Fox improved its shooting from beyond the arc in the period. Overall, George Fox made seven-of-18 three-pointers in the second after only going four-of-16 in the first half.
Still, the Bruins didn’t get within 20 points of the Cavs in the second half until there was 3:49 remaining and by then it was too little too late.
Overall, Concordia shot 59 percent from the floor while holding George Fox to 37.5 percent. Concordia also outrebounded the Bruins 40-to-33, though George Fox won on the offensive glass, 16-to-13. Both teams played a clean game as each only committed 11 turnovers on the night.
Individually, Kevan West and Sweeney joined Herman as the only Cavs in double figures with 19 and 11, respectively. Both West and Sweeney also tied with Herman, Daniel LeFlore and Kory Kirwan for the team lead in rebounds as all grabbed five each. Finally, Gage Aker led Concordia with five assists against only one turnover.
Anthony Sanchez led the way for George Fox with 18 points, while Spencer Bolte added 11.
Concordia will now kick-off a four-game road trip against Linfield tomorrow at 8 p.m. The next home game for Concordia will be the conference-opener against Eastern Oregon on Friday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m.