Junior transfer matt cadwell (g, st. Paul, minn.) hit a 15 foot baseline jumper with 1.5 seconds remaining and jason birr (sr., g, burnsville, minn.) stole the ensuing inbounds pass to give concordia university (1-0) a 69-67 victory over peru state (1-6) in their season opener in the wildwood lodge tip-off classic on friday night at the gangelhoff center.

the golden bears trailed 64-61 with 3:36 to play until cadwell drove the lane and found an open james metcalf (sr., g, killeen, texas) under the basket for a layup. Cadwell hit a jumper a minute later to put concordia on top, 65-64 with 2:07 to play.

with exactly one minute remaining, sophomore forward craig heiman (marshall, wis.) converted a layup to give concordia a three point lead. The layup gave heiman 22 points, which led the golden bears on the night.

but with :27 to play the bobcats' joe mews connected on a game-tying three-pointer.

concordia held the ball until under :10 were on the clock when cadwell made his move, driving to the baseline. His shot fake got his defender in the air and he nailed his turnaround jumper.

cadwell would finish with 14 points on 5-10 shooting after being held scoreless on one shot in the first half. He also had four assists and four rebounds.

heiman dominated the first half, scoring 14 of his 22 points on just 4-12 shooting but was a perfect 5-5 at the free throw line.

sophomore guard mike cunningham (minneapolis, minn.) was the only other golden bear in double-figures, scoring 11 points while dishing out a game-high six assists with five rebounds.

concordia managed 37 rebounds while peru state edged them out with 38. Concordia was led on the glass by senior center chuol chany (des moines, iowa) with six. Six players had between four and six rebounds for concordia in a balanced effort down low. Chany also had a pair of blocks including a key block with 1:49 to play.

peru state's john head scored a team-high 22 points and collected eight rebounds while herman vandenbrandt had a game-high 12 rebounds but committed six turnovers. Julius durant pitched in 14 points.

concordia continues play in the wildwood lodge tip-off classic tomorrow evening, hosting macalester at 8 p.m.

box score - cu 69, peru state 67