senior forward kenneth pointer scored a career-high 26 points and helped the golden bears erase a 13-point first half deficit but cu fell short in the end as #5 northern state pulled out a 77-70 victory on saturday evening at the gangelhoff center in st. Paul, minn.
free throw shooting was critical as both teams struggled for much of the contest. But concordia finished a mere .350 (7-20) at the line while nsu converted .577 (15-26) and outscored the bears by eight points at the stripe.
pointer's 26 points came on 11-23 shooting and he also drained 4-11 threes in the contest. He had a pair of rebounds, assists and steals in 32 minutes of floor time.
senior forward ty thomas added 12 points but fouled out for the second straight game, this time in 23 minutes. He hit a crucial three-pointer to tie the score at 70 but was whistled for his fifth foul on the other end of the floor trying to defend a fastbreak layup by matt hammer with just 1:33 to play. Thomas also added five rebounds and a pair of steals.
junior guard kyle marxhausen pitched in with eight points and a team-high eight rebounds and a pair of assists. He crashed the offensive glass for five boards.
the golden bears were outscored 33-20 off the bench but had key contribution from junior forward marlon walker, who scored nine points and was a perfect 4-4 from the field. He also snared three rebounds and had a pair of steals in 29 minutes. Sophomore guard jason birr and senior point guard rj allen each played vital roles off the bench for cu as well. Birr had four points, hitting all four of his free throw attempts and added three rebounds, three assists and two steals in 14 minutes of play while allen scored five points and was able to provide physical defense against a strong nsu offense.
the wolves shot a blistering .592 (29-49) from the field while the bears shot .459 (28-61). The wolves beat up the bears on the glass as well, holding a 38-31 rebounding advantage.
the loss gives the bears a four game losing streak, all four of those coming in conference play. They will try to recover from the skid when they host #18 winona state at the gangelhoff center on jan. 28.
