Cavs claim seventh straight with win over Northwest

1/18/2014 9:41:00 PM

Concordia 98, Northwest 89?? Stats Comparison CU NU Points 98 89 Rebounds 31 38 Assists 7 9 Fouls 20 24 Shooting % 58.6% 49.2% 3-point % 47.1% 31.0% Free Throw % 68.8% 64.0% CU Leaders NU Herman 30 Points 22 McIntosh Middleton 6 Rebounds 8 Djokovic Velasquez Ligon 2 Assists 3 Carter Holton 1 Blocks 1 Grujicic Ligon 3 Steals 2 Greene Carter

PORTLAND, Ore.—In a battle of two teams tied for second place in the CCC standings, Concordia University outlasted Northwest University 98-89 inside the Cavalier Gymnasium on Saturday night.

Starting off the game with identical records in conference play, Concordia progressed to 6-3 in the CCC and 16-4 overall. The Cavaliers ended the night one game back of College of Idaho (16-5, 7-2 CCC) in the CCC standings and remain in second place along with Southern Oregon (17-4, 6-3 CCC) and Warner Pacific (12-9, 6-3 CCC).

The Cavaliers will host Warner Pacific in a key tilt next Saturday after facing Portland Bible College, in its last non-conference game of the season, on Jan. 21.

With the loss, Northwest dropped to fifth place in the CCC with a 5-4 mark and to an overall record of 14-6.

After the two teams spent the opening minutes feeling each other out with a pair of lead changes and several ties, Northwest captured the game's first lead of consequence as the Eagles went up 27-19 on a Nikola Djokovic layup with 4:46 remaining in the first half.

Not content with just cutting into the deficit before the break, the Cavaliers roared back with a 15-4 run highlighted by Willy Ligon (Corona, Calif./Centennial H.S.) scoring a pair of 3-point shots well behind the arch with a fast-break layup sandwiched in between.

The CU lead would be short-lived however as Djokovic returned with the final basket of the half to give NU a 37-36.

At the start of the second half, the Cavaliers immediately took back the lead and did not surrender it again for the remainder of the game.

After a tactical pace in the first half, both teams picked up speed in the second as they combined to score 114 points in final 20 minutes of action.

Holding a two-point lead (62-60) after free throws by Nemenja Grujicic, Concordia put together another extended run, this time outscoring the Eagles 21-9 over a five-minute span to create a 14-point advantage.

With five minutes to go in the game, Michael Greene, who had been playing with four fouls for the bulk of the second half, made a 3-pointer to get the deficit within seven at 74-67.

Shooting a remarkable 58.6 percent from the floor in the game and 16 of 18 from the free throw line in the second half only, the Cavs closed out the game for its seventh straight win.

Tyler Velazquez, coming off of a career high night on Friday, had 23 points and was 4 of 8 from distance. Adam Herman (Vancouver, Wash./Prairie H.S.), on the night he was recognized for becoming CU's all-time leading scorer, finished with 30 points and five rebounds. The senior now has 1,976 points and will look to become the first player in school history to reach the 2,000-point plateau next Tuesday.

Ryan McIntosh led the Eagles with 22 points and was followed by 14 from Greene and 14 from Grujicic.