Concordia (16-11, 10-8 nsic) earned the fourth-seed in the upcoming nsic tournament with a 77-69 win over wayne state (15-12, 10-8 nsic) saturday night in the gangelhoff center. By virtue of the tiebreak concordia earns the right to host wayne state again next saturday, march 1 at 8:00.

the golden bears put together a balanced attack with four players scoring in double-figures. Sophomore craig heiman (marshall, wi) led concordia with 21 points, marking the tenth time this season he has eclipsed the 20-point barrier.

the two teams exchanged the lead three times in the first half with the golden bears taking their largest lead at 15-7 at 14:45. The wildcats went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 15-15 at 12:14.

over the next ten minutes the two teams would be tied four times with no team taking more than a four point lead. Wayne state would lead 33-29 at the intermission.

heiman led the golden bears with 13 points on 5-11 from the field, including 3-4 from beyond the arc in the first half. He would finish the game shooting 6-13 from the floor, 4-5 from three point range and 5-6 from the free throw line.

on senior night at the gangelhoff center, senior james metcalf (killeen, tx) scored 19 points, with 14 coming in the second half, on 7-11 shooting from the field, including 3-5 from beyond the arc and 2-2 from the free throw line.

senior chuol chany (des moines, ia) added 11 points, six rebounds and four assists in the win, while senior jason birr (burnsville, mn) had nine points, four assists, two steals and two rebounds.

sophomore mike cunningham (minneapolis, mn) posted his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high ten assists. He also added five rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

the golden bears shot an impressive 15-22 (68.2%) in the second half to increase their lead to as many as 11 at 77-66 with 00:19. The also converted 14-18 (77.8%) of their free throws in the second half.

jonathan thomas led wayne state with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while jamar diggs added 14 points and six assists.

for the night the golden bears shot 27-49 (55.9%) from the field, including 8-14 (57.1%) from three point range.

wayne state finished the nigth converting 26-59 (44.1%) from the floor, and only 5-17 (29.4%) from three. They were also 12-16 (75.0%) from the free throw line.

concordia outrebounded the wildcats 39 to 32 and scored 15 points on 12 wayne state turnovers.

the two teams will meet again on saturday, march 1 at 8:00 in the first round of the nsic tournament.

box score - cu 77, wayne state 69