Herman Hits 32 in Concordia Win

2/18/2014 9:48:00 PM

Concordia 83, Northwest Christian 67?? Stats Comparison CU NCU Points 83 67 Rebounds 40 33 Assists 18 11 Fouls 16 18 Shooting % 49.2% 42.1% 3-point % 27.8% 25.0% Free Throw % 74.1% 63.2% CU Leaders NCU Herman 32 Points 23 Baker Middleton 11 Rebounds 8 Kuepmer Coleman Velasquez 9 Assists 3 Baker 3 players 1 Blocks 1 Kuemper Matthews Holton 2 Steals 2 Byrd

PORTLAND, Ore.—Using a 22-7 run in the first half,­ Concordia defeated Northwest Christian, 83-67, on Tuesday to take a huge stride in securing one of the top four spots in the CCC standings.

Concordia (21-7m 10-6 CCC), one game back of Southern Oregon (22-6, 11-5 CCC), will close out its regular season at home against Oregon Tech (15-13, 8-8 CCC) and SOU this weekend.

Stuck in fourth place in the league standings, Northwest Christian (15-12, 9-8 CCC), meanwhile, will likely need a win on Saturday against Corban to guarantee a home game in the CCC quarterfinals.

NCU opened the game by scoring five quick points, first a 3-pointer by Coleton Baker and moments later, a jumper from Austin Kuemper.

The Cavaliers immediately reversed their fortunes, using strong inside play to create a 13-point lead on a Thomas Pierce (Gary, Ind./Roosevelt H.S.) 3-pointer with 3:56 remaining in the half.

Looking to finish out the half on a high note, NCU's Kuemper drove to the hoop for a layup to pull the Beacons to within nine Concordia's Willy Ligon (Corona, Calif./Centennial H.S.) answered with a 3-pointer before the break making it a 42-30 advantage for the home team.

The Cavs continued to apply pressure on their visitors in the second half, pushing the spread to 20 points on Adam Herman (Vancouver, Wash./Prairie H.S.) free throws at the 14:51 mark.

Making an extended rally, the Beacons cut the deficit to seven at 63-56 off back-to-back 3-point shots made by Spencer Coleman and Coleton Baker.

Shooting 52.2 percent and getting to the free throw line 21 times in the second half, the Cavs squelched the rally, returning to a 12-point lead with Marquis Matthews (Spanaway, Wash./Bethel H.S.) draining 3-pointer and adding a layup with 5:27 left.

Concordia forced NCU into 15 turnovers and gained a 40-33 advantage on the boards.

Connecting on 14 of 16 from the free throw line, Herman had another game-high night for Concordia, scoring 32 points and adding eight rebounds. Esvan Middleton (Culver City, Calif./Culver City H.S.) pulled in a game-high 11 rebounds and added eight points.

Baker led NCU with a team-high 23 points. Kemper finished with 12 and Remi White another 10 while coming off the bench for the Beacons.