CU's Adam Herman hit 11 of 13 attempts for a game high 27 points on Friday.
Herman’s Double-Double Boosts Cavs over Beacons
BOX SCORE - Concordia vs. Northwest Christian
PORTLAND, Ore.—Trailing for a total of exactly one minute in the first half, Concordia upended Northwest Christian 81-68 in men’s basketball action on Friday night.
Just four seconds in, Concordia’s Adam Herman struck first in the contest with an unassisted jumper.
Travis Pacos returned with back-to-back buckets for Northwest Christian for their first lead. The Beacons would later stake an 8-6 lead after a Trevor Parker jumper at 15:35, but CU’s Anthony Holton responded with a jumper of his own 13 second later to square the game at 8-8.
From there the Cavs rattled off seven straight, which included a 3-pointer by Willy Ligon, to start another separation. Moments later, Anthony Holton kicked in with six points as part of a Concordia 12-point streak which put the home team up 27-12.
At 3:53 remaining, Ligon returned with another 3-pointer to give the Cavs its largest lead of the opening half with the score 35-19.
Now down big on the road, the Beacons quietly snuck back into the contest with a nine-point run of their own to end the half, pulling to within five at the horn.
Immediately extinguishing any NCU momentum, Concordia opened the second half with the first eight points to reclaim a double-digit advantage.
Continuing to pull away with 12 minutes remaining, Herman gave CU a 15-point cushion with a layup for a 54-39 score.
After both teams traded baskets over the middle third of the period, Jordan Buhler crowned a 12-4 Beacon rally to pull within five at 60-55. Reversing course, the Cavs placed an 11-3 run to break the backs of the road squad before finishing with the 13-point win.
“We played much smarter in the second half and had great defensive intensity,” CU head coach Brad Barbarick said. “It’s great to be home after a tough trip, but we are really starting to come together. There is still a concern with the turnovers. We forced some issues and had some poor decisions and when you ahead in basketball that’s when you have to figure out the flow of the game and eliminate those mistakes.”
Hitting 11 of 13 from the floor, Herman finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds for his ninth ‘double-double’ of the season.
“He is as good as I have coached,” Barbarick said. “I’ve never had a player with his size and strength that can make those moves. Everyone knows he has that first step, but he continue to amaze us at the shots he has been able to make.”
Holton added 20 points while Ligon finished with 16 as the CU starting five accounted for 74 of the team’s 81 points. Junior center Justin Searle filled the box score with four points, five rebounds, four blocks and a pair of steals.
Parker paced the Beacons with 19 points on 7 of 17 shooting and was followed by 11 points from Pacos and 10 from Buhler.
Overall, Concordia finished 55.2 percent (32 of 58) shooting on the night compared to 38.6 percent (27 of 70) for the Beacons. The Cavs also enjoyed a 41-33 edge in rebounding, but turned the ball over 21 times compared to 19 for the visiting side.
Both teams will return to action on Saturday as Concordia will host Corban University while Northwest Christian will stay in Portland to face Warner Pacific. Opening tip is set for 7:30 p.m. for both matchups.