Cavs Survive Late Pioneer Push for Sixth Straight Win

11/30/2013 10:23:00 PM

Concordia 103, Lewis & Clark 94?? Stats Comparison CU L&C Points 103 94 Rebounds 45 36 Assists 21 16 Fouls 20 28 Shooting % 50.7% 49.3% 3-point % 53.8% 46.2% Free Throw % 80.0% 66.7% CU Leaders L&C Herman 38 Points 22 Parker Middleton 15 Rebounds 9 Freeberg Velasquez 8 Assists 4 Neves N/A 0 Blocks 3 Carter Middleton Matthews 3 Steals 1 4 players Concordia Men's Basketball > Roster > Schedule/Results > 2013-14 Season Stats > CCC Standings > CCC Stats > NAIA Rankings

PORTLAND, Ore.—Up by 19 at the half, Concordia University held off Lewis & Clark State 103-94 in crosstown non-conference men's basketball action on Saturday night.

With its sixth straight win, Concordia improved to 7-1 on the season while L&C fell to 4-2 on the year. The streak is the longest by a CU team since the team opened the 2009 season at 9-0 and is tied for the fifth-longest in school history. The 1999 team set a school record with 13 straight wins.

In addition to the team's consecutive win streak, the outing represented the fourth straight 100-plus scoring night for the Cavs, the NAIA's leaders at 104.4 points per game.

Hitting 7 of 11 from beyond the 3-point line, Concordia built a strong first-half lead, going up by double digits with 5:12 remaining on a Ligon 3-pointer to make it a 41-31 advantage. From there, the Cavs closed the half on an 18-9 run for a 59-40 spread at the break.

The Pioneers enjoyed brief leads early in the first, including a 19-15 advantage following a Serg Ovchinnikov 3-pointer but were reduced to playing catch-up for most of the contest.

The Cavs produced the first points of the second half via an Adam Herman (Vancouver, Wash./Prairie H.S.) layup for a 21-point lead, its largest of the game. Still down 19 (75-56) with 12:31 remaining, the Pioneers chipped away at the deficit, eventually pulling to within a single possession at 92-89 with five minutes remaining.

Helping to quell the comeback, Tyler Velasquez (Colorado Springs, Colo./Doherty H.S.) produced back-to-back key plays, beginning with a layup and returning to assist on a Ligon jumper to bring the CU lead back up to eight (97-89).

In the final minute, Herman and Esvan Middleton (Culver City, Calif./Culver City H.S.) connected on the final four attempts from the free throw line to ice the game for the Cavs.

One shy of his career high, Herman finished with a game-high 38 points for his seventh career 30-point game. Shooting 10 of 15 from the floor, Ligon added 26 points while Velasquez finished with 15. Middleton helped CU produce a 45-to-36 advantage on the boards with a game-high 15 rebounds.

Led by 22 points from Kurt Parker, six different Pioneers reached double figures in scoring.

Concordia returns to action on Friday, Dec. 6 when it takes part in its first CCC match of the season at Southern Oregon. Opening tip is set for 7:30 p.m. in Ashland, Ore.