crookston, minn. - concordia university senior craig heiman became the program's all-time leading scorer after dumping in 25 points in an 82-79 overtime win against minnesota, crookston (3-4, 0-3 nsic) on friday night. Heiman has put up 1,449 points in his career as a golden bear and helped cu (3-4, 1-2 nsic) chalk up a much-needed win on the road. box score
the golden bears rallied from a 30-32 halftime deficit with a big run in the second half before entering an extra period of play. An 18-2 run gave concordia a huge 56-44 boost at the 8:15 mark in the second half, but their efforts were erased by the golden eagles throughout the remainder of regulation. craig heiman (f, sr., marshall, wis.) supplied cu with six points in this run, including the jumper at the 10:41 mark that tied him for the all-time scoring record with jeff chamberlain (1,443, 1993-97). Heiman went on to score six more points in the game to ensure himself a place atop of the points column.
minnesota, crookston, shooting 48.4% from the field on the evening, pulled back the reigns on concordia's scoring spree and managed to knot the game 66-66 as the time ticked down. They rattled off 12 quick points in three minutes, holding cu to a single free throw.
with a final possession and chance to take the win, the golden bears drew up a play during a timeout with 19 seconds on the board. sammy ricks (g, sr., st. Paul, minn.) ended up getting the last look at the hoop, but came up short and cu was forced into the extra period of play.
ricks fired up his team with a quick three-pointer, knocking off just five ticks from the ot clock to put cu up 69-66. Umc's marquee player, akeem cubie, answered with a jumper and then a layup after cu's mike cunningham (g, sr., minneapolis, minn.) knocked down a shot. The golden bears had a number of clutch plays in the final minutes of the contest, taking a three-pointer from andrew kuderer (g, jr., eden prairie, minn.) and both a blocked shot and a dunk from brent bartz (f, so., johnston, iowa). The golden eagles got to within a single point, hitting a three-point shot and a set of free throws in the final 20 seconds, but kuderer and matt hackl (f, jr., seymour, wis.) both composed themselves to hit both sets of free throws to save the win.
the golden bears wrap up a four-game skid and take their first nsic win in the tense decision. They shot 44.1% from the field and had precise control of the ball, turning the rock over just eight times in the contest. Heiman's 25 points was a team high, followed by 15 from ricks, who also had five assists and three steals, and 12 from cunningham. Cunningham kept the team alive on the boards, nabbing 10 of cu's 37 on the night for his first double-double of the season. It was also just the second time this year cu was out-rebounded and the first time they didn't rack up 40 team rebounds.
minnesota, crookston relied on cubie for 27 of the team's points and, much like the golden bears, also had two other players finish in double figures for scoring. Umc shot 48.4% from the field, including 52.2% in the second half. Although they committed just 10 turnovers, these mistakes ended up costing them the game, with concordia nabbing 17 points off of the 10 turnovers, compared to the nine scored by umc off of cu's eight miscues. Concordia's eight turnovers was a season-best mark as well.
craig heiman is the second player in concordia history to score more than 1,400 points for the golden bear program. He is now just 1 point away from entering the top 10 best scorers in nsic history, as well.
the golden bears head to moorhead tomorrow evening for an 8:00 pm matchup with the dragons of msu moorhead. They hope to ride a high from tonight's thrilling win as they enter the game knotted with msum in the nsic standings.
