st. Paul, minn. - concordia university commanded an 85-73 win over bemidji state (7-14, 5-9 nsic) on friday evening, splitting regular season results and continuing their quest toward the postseason. The golden bears remain eighth in the nsic at 8-6 and are 10-11 overall. They have control over their season's destiny, needing three wins in the remainin six games to ensure a position in the nsic tournament.
the golden bears went to matt cadwell for four three-pointers in the first half as they distanced themselves from the beavers 46-33 through the first 20 minutes. The beavers shot similarly from the field as concordia, but with only one cu turnover, the golden bears maintained more possessions and got off more shots. The largest lead of the half came with a mike cunningham fast break layup at 4:19 to give cu a 44-24 lead.
concordia had a good second half as well, giving up only five turnovers and hitting 44.8% of their shots. They ran the lead back up to 20 points within minutes of resuming play. The beavers went to seth haake to help bring the margin back down to 12 points, 63-51 around the 12 minute mark.
after giving up seven straight points, the golden bears scored 14 of the next 16 points to take their largest lead of the game, 77-53 at the 7:43 mark. The run saw points and rebounds from multiple golden bears and was capped by an andrew kuderer shot from downtown. The beavers would get to within ten points before the final buzzer, with five of the concordia's six turnovers in the game coming in a three minute stretch. The cushion that they built with both their offense and defense in the middle of the period held tight and the squad went home with a comfortable 85-73 win.
with 18 points scored in the first half, cadwell finished the game as the night's leading scorer with 24 points. He also had four assists. Cunningham had an all-around strong night and nearly reached a rare triple double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. sammy ricks pitched in with 14 points, five assists and four steals.
concordia shot 45.3% from the field on the evening and sunk ten three-point shots. They passed out 19 assists. The mere six turnovers was a season low mark.
the beavers gave it their best effort, shooting 47.5% from the field and out-rebounding the golden bears 38-35. In the end, the 14 concordia points scored from turnovers and a dry scoring spell in the second half resulted in the win for cu. Center jimmy johnson came off the bench to lead the team with 18 points and eight rebounds. He was followed by fellow benchmate tyler wruck with 14 points.
the golden bears keep their sights aimed on the 2009 nsic tournament. With an extremely tough patch of the schedule remaining, they will have to pick up at least three wins to ensure their spot in the postseason. Their next test comes tomorrow evening as they host minnesota duluth, currently tied for fifth in the nsic, at 8:00 pm. The night also hosts the 2nd annual pink zone event, helping to raise awareness for breast cancer and benefitting the twin cities hope lodge. Bring in an item to donate and remember to wear pink for the fun-filled night!
