Davis Nuaimi scored four points and added a key assist in the final minutes against UBC on Saturday.
Concordia opens season with 62-61 comeback win over UBC
PORTLAND, Ore – Tyler Velasquez (Colorado Springs, Colo./Doherty H.S.) scored 20 points to lead all scorers and seven other Cavaliers hit from the field as the Concordia men's basketball team shook off a poor shooting night to beat British Columbia 62-61 in dramatic fashion in the 2014-15 season opener.
Concordia (1-0) trailed most of the way in a sloppy, foul-filled game, only pulling ahead for good when Velasquez stole a Jordan Jensen-Whyte pass and found a cutting
Esvan Middleton (Culver City, Calif./Culver City H.S.) for the go-ahead layup with 17 seconds remaining.
The Cavaliers still had to sweat out the final moments after officials determined the ball went out of bounds off a Concordia player with half a second remaining, giving UBC (4-3) one last chance. Tommy Nixon's desperation heave fell short for the Thunderbirds, handing Concordia the victory.
The win was a relief after the Cavaliers struggled from the floor all night. For the game, Concordia made just 25-of-69 shots (.362) from the field and 5-of-16 shots (.313) from beyond the 3-point line, which allowed UBC to hold the lead for a long stretch, including nearly the entire second half.
"We could not get into a rhythm tonight," said Concordia head coach
Brad Barbarick. "We got some good looks and just didn't knock them down."
The rough shooting numbers helped even out a contest in which the Cavaliers otherwise held the edge in several statistical categories. CU won the rebounding battle 41-35 (including 17 offensive boards), came up with 18 steals and held the Thunderbirds to 46 total shot attempts.
The chaotic pace at which the game was played contributed to the low-scoring outcome. The teams combined for 52 turnovers (32 for UBC) and 37 fouls, and players from both sides had trouble keeping their footing on the court. Down the stretch, though, it was the Concordia defense that had the last say.
After Conor Morgan's third 3-pointer gave the Thunderbirds their largest lead of the contest at 57-49, the Cavaliers only allowed one field goal in the remaining 7:50 of game action, a layup by Morgan with 1:43 to play. During that span, the Cavs pressured the visitors into eight turnovers, providing just enough room for the frantic comeback.
Middleton's score gave the team its first lead since the 7:41 mark of the first half, when Concordia went up 23-22. In all, the Cavaliers held the lead for only 9:01 of the 40 minutes, but came through late when it mattered. Velasquez was superb in the closing minutes, swishing a huge three to cut the lead to one, knocking down a pair of critical free throws and then stealing the ball prior to the winning layup.
Anthony Holton (Portland, Ore./Sunset H.S.) was the only other Cavalier to score in double digits, finishing with 10 points and five rebounds.
Thomas Pierce (Gary, Ind./Roosevelt H.S.) had eight, while Middleton led all players with 10 rebounds. Morgan led the Thunderbirds with 18 points and Jensen-Whyte was the only other UBC player in double digits with 11.
Concordia next takes the court Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. at home against Multnomah. UBC plays Nov. 7 at home in Vancouver against University of Victoria.
Assistant Coach Jeff Christianson
On the team's performance… "We stuck with it, it was a tough game where we battled and pulled it out at the end. Obviously we didn't feel we played too great but we showed a lot of resolve coming down the stretch. The good thing was our good defensive stops."
On what the team can take away from tonight's game… "I'd say just the way we stick together and that defense can win us games. So even if we're struggling offensively like we did tonight and having trouble getting buckets, if we're able to get stops we'll stay in every game. When our offense comes along, we should be just fine."