Sweeney grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds to go with 21 points
Cavaliers Pull Away to 82-67 Win Over Corban
BOX SCORE
SALEM, Ore. – Concordia took the opening tipoff and Gage Aker dunked it three seconds later to set the tone as the Cavaliers pulled away to a 82-67 Cascade Collegiate Conference men’s basketball victory Friday night against Corban.
The win improves Concordia’s record to 9-15 overall, 3-10 in the CCC. Corban falls to 14-12 overall and 4-10 in conference play. The teams split the season series, with Corban taking a 79-78 overtime decision at Concordia on Jan. 8.
The teams played even for the first 10 minutes, with Jourdan Sweeney’s jumper giving the Cavs a 22-21 lead at the halfway point of the first period. Concordia used an 11-2 run to take a 31-23 lead six minutes before the break, and Corban never got closer than three back the rest of the way.
Nash Keene’s three-pointer with 4:03 to play before the intermission pulled Corban to within 33-30, but Daniel LeFlore answered with a trey of his own on the other end of the court to put the Cavs back up by six. The Warriors missed a pair of shots in the closing seconds of the half, taking a 39-32 halftime lead.
After Jordan Carter scored the first points of the half for Corban, Concordia used a 6-0 run to take a 45-34 lead with 15:30 to play. The Cavaliers started to pull away in the final seven minutes, as Sweeney scored on consecutive possessions to put CU up by 15 with 5:45 remaining.
The Warriors battled back to within nine at 74-65 on Nash’s three-pointer with 1:44 to go, but Aker hit a pair of free throws and Adam Herman followed a Corban turnover with a dunk to put Concordia up 78-65. Marcus Butler scored for Corban, but two more Aker free throws and a Kevan West dunk ended the scoring at 82-67.
Sweeney and Herman tied for the game-high with 21 points each. Sweeney grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds for Concordia, while Aker added 15 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. West scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting for the Cavs, who shot 50.8 percent (32-of-63) from the field as a team.
Keene scored 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc to lead the Warriors. Carter was the only other Corban player with double-digits in the scoring column, tallying 11 points in the loss. Concordia limited Corban to 43.9 percent (29-of-66) shooting from the field in the contest.
After opening the conference season with a 1-9 record, Concordia has won two of its last three contests. The Cavaliers will seek their third win in their last four games on Saturday, when they visit Northwest Christian at 7:30 p.m.
Corban will host Warner Pacific in a CCC contest Saturday at 7:30 p.m.