Cavs Avenge Loss to New Hope Christian
BOX SCORE - Concordia vs. New Hope
EUGENE, Ore.—Facing a team that beat them by six on their home court last month, Concordia earned a 74-62 win on the road against New Hope Christian on Monday evening.
Concordia (4-6) scored 37 points in each half while holding the Deacons to 36.2 percent shooting en route to the 12-point win. New Hope fell to 4-13 on the season with the loss.
The Deacons looked comfortable on their home floor in the early minutes as Forest Stolk, Austin Candoza and Corey Gantt each produced baskets to give New Hope a 7-1 lead.
Scoring 14 of his team-high 20 points in the first half, CU’s Adam Herman tied the game at 9-9 on a 3-pointer at the 15:26 while Kory Kirwan added the next score for the first Cavalier lead of the day.
Drew Wiley kept the Deacons close with a field goal in the paint with just over 12 minutes remaining but a 12-3 run ending with a 3-pointer from Kyle Atkinson quickly generated an 11-point lead by the visitors from Portland.
Wiley cut the deficit to six on a pair of free throws with 4:39 left on the clock and returned for the final basket of the half for a six-point spread in favor of the Cavaliers at 37-31.
The two clubs would return for the same tally in the second half, giving the Cavs a 12-point win, however the Deacons kept the game in doubt until the waning moments.
Erasing a double-digit deficit, a 3-pointer by Wiley squared the game at 52-52 with 10 minutes to play but the Cavs would not yield the lead.
Working with a 64-62 lead with three minutes left, Kirwan stepped to the line and buried a pair of key free throws following a technical called on New Hope. On the next possession Kirwan returned with a Robbie Jackson assisted layup to stretch the lead to six.
With Kirwan scoring eight straight Cavalier points, CU posted the final 10 points of the half to hold the Deacons at bay.
“I was really pleased with how we played collectively on defense. We did a good job of limiting their top two scorers with great play by several individuals,” CU head coach Brad Barbarick said. “A common theme in our wins is we have guys off the bench step up and that is what happened tonight. Kory (Kirwan) and Anthony (Holton) did some good things out there while Terani (Richmond), Robbie (Jackson), Jesse (Armstrong) also gave us a lift.”
Kirwan finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds. Justin Searle matched Kirwan with nine boards as the Cavs enjoyed a 43-to-30 advantage on the glass. Anthony Holton finished with a full line which included seven points, seven assists and eight rebounds.
Collecting 11 points in each half, Wiley led the Deacons with 22 and was followed by 12 from Stolk.
The Cavs return to action at home against Southern Oregon on Friday and will host Oregon Tech, the defending NAIA National Champions, on Saturday. Opening tip is set for 7:30 p.m. on both nights.
“We are thrilled to be back playing at home and we will have two good teams coming to town,” Barbarick said. “We will now turn to putting in three focused practices to get ready for an important week.”