Six Golden Bears scored at least nine points as Concordia (6-2) grabbed the first lead of the game and did not relinquish the lead in a 91-69 victory over St. John's (Minn.) (4-2) on Friday evening at the American Family Insurance Hoopster Classic at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, Minn. on the campus of St. Cloud State University.
Senior forward
Kenneth Pointer scored nine points in nearly two and a half minutes to lead Concordia on an 11-0 run to take an early 25-12 lead at the 11:55 mark in the first half.
St. John's worked their way back into the game, cutting the deficit to three, 30-27, with 6:27 to play in the half. But junior guard
Kyle Marxhausen answered for Concordia, scoring the next five points on a jumper and a three-point field goal to spark another 11-0 run in just under a two-minute span, giving the golden bears their largest lead of the game to that point, 41-27, with 4:20 to play in the half.
The Golden Bears stretched their lead to 21, 54-33, on a pair of free throws by senior point guard
RJ Allen with 1:00 remaining the half, capping a total run of 24-6 that spanned 5:27 to blow the game open. St. John's had to score four of their six points during the run at the foul line, as they only converted one field goal between the 6:27 mark until Tim Veurink drained a three-pointer at the :23 mark to bring SJU within 18, 54-36 at the half.
Concordia outscored the Johnnie 18-6 off turnovers and 6-0 on the fastbreak in the half. The Bears shot an astonishing 70.4% (19-27) from the field in the first half compared to SJU's 53.8% (14-26).
The Johnnies wouldn't pull closer than 15 points in the second half, as Concordia ballooned the lead over 20 for the last 16:44 of the contest, leading by as many as 28 points, 73-45, at the 13:05 mark after senior forward
Ty Thomas canned a jump shot.
Pointer led Concordia with 18 points in 28 minutes, while Marxhausen contributed 17 in 24 minutes. Pointer shot 8-13 from the field, while Marxhausen continued his hot shooting, going 7-9 from the field and 3-4 from downtown. The duo each had four rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Pointer was the only player for CU to fire up at least 10 shots in the contest in a balanced offensive attack.
Senior center
Aaron Ackerson reached double-figures for the first time this season, scoring 13 points on 5-6 shooting. He also grabbed a pair of rebounds with a block and a steal.
Thomas was Concordia's leading rebounder with eight (three offensive) to go with his 12 points on 4-8 shooting, 4-4 at the foul line in just 21 minutes of work.
The bench was led by posts
Colby Swanson and
Marlon Walker, who added 11 and nine points, respectively. Swanson, a senior, also reached double-figures for the first time this season with 11 points on 5-6 shooting despite fouling out in 18 minutes. Swanson also hit his first three-pointer on the season and had three steals. Walker was also efficient shooting the ball, converting on 3-4 from the field and 3-3 at the stripe. Walker also grabbed four boards in 21 minutes of play off the bench.
Freshman
Paul Reineck also netted his first career point, hitting a free throw in three minutes of play.
the Johnnies were led by center Craig Schafer's 17 points on 7-10 shooting in 24 minutes. Paul Henrichs was the only other player to reach double-digits for SJU with 13 points on 5-9 shooting in 21 minutes.
The Golden Bears shot a blistering 66.0% (35-53) in the game compared to St. John's efficient 47.4% (27-57). Concordia outscored SJU 17-11 at the line as they outshot the Johnnies 70.8% (17-24) to 52.4% (11-21) at the stripe. They also held a 34-27 rebounding advantage in the contest.
Concordia returns to the floor tomorrow afternoon in the American Family Insurance Hoopster Classic when they battle Johnson & Wales from Rhode Island at Halenbeck Hall on the campus of SCSU. Tomorrow's tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
