bemidji, minn. - senior craig heiman hit 12-of-16 field goals and set a new season scoring high for the golden bears with a 30-point game against bemidji state (7-12, 4-9 nsic) on friday night. Heiman's on-cue shooting was part of a 50% team average that helped lift concordia over the beavers on the road, 78-73. The win is the third straight for the golden bear squad, which improves to 10-10 overall and 7-6 in nsic play. They pack up and head to duluth for an 8:00 pm game against the bulldogs saturday evening. box score
it took awhile for the golden bears to warm up to their task on friday night, but when they got things rolling, it was an impressive game for the whole team. Heiman (f, sr., marshall, wis.) tipped the scale in both halves and propelled the team to the win.
heiman dropped in 15 of the team's last 20 points in the first half, combining with his teammates for an intense defensive push that allowed bemidji state just five points in the last seven minutes. The beavers were up 25-14 at the seven minute mark before heiman went on his scoring spree. He started things off with two and-one plays and a three-pointer that not only brought down the margin in score, but got the cu bench up and roaring. Heiman continued to feed off of the momentum and finished the run out before the buzzer, giving cu as much as a 7-point lead in a fast 18-point swing.
brent barz (f, so., johnston, iowa) and sammy ricks (g, sr., st. Paul, minn.) took over where heiman left off early in the second half, using three-point plays to stick with the pressing beavers. Barz went with the old-fashioned way of putting up three quick points, while ricks sat outside of the arc for his triples. A drained ricks long ball handed the lead back to the golden bears for the final time at the 11:34 mark of the second half, 54-51. Yet another and-one from heiman gave concordia a more comfortable lead just minutes later, up 62-54 and eight minutes left to burn.
while the golden bears seemed to have most of the momentum in the game thanks to a season scoring high from heiman, the beavers were not without their chances in the game. Bemidji state found plenty of extra possessions in the first half as cu fumbled the ball around and gave up the rock 12 times. The turnovers were due in part to beaver pressure, but bemidji state was credited for only three steals among those 12 first half mistakes. Taking far superior care of the ball in the second half meant just two turnovers for concordia and likely meant the difference in the game.
the golden bears allowed things to get interesting late in the game. The beavers pushed the defensive abilities of concordia and got to the free throw line often enough to draw the game to a single possession just above the two minute mark. Heiman laid in a bucket to push cu's lead back to four points, 72-68, but free throws again tightened the score to 72-71.
layups were traded under the minute mark and courtney tyler (g, jr., eagan, minn.) stepped to the stripe for two key free throws, which he hit, to give concordia a 76-73 lead. Although they committed just 11 turnovers in the entire game, it was the final two that spelled a loss for bemidji state. The beavers never got off another shot and instead allowed ricks to swipe both of their final possessions.
heiman's 30-point game was a season high for concordia and made the senior the only player in school history to put up four 30+ games in a career. He had six rebounds and three assists to go with his impressive scoring line. Barz had 16 final pionts and six boards alongside four blocked shots, while ricks chipped in 10 final points. The night's rebound leader was mike cunningham (g, sr., minneapolis, minn.) who had nine of cu's 41 boards. The golden bears out-rebounded the beavers 41-24 in the decision and shot 50% from the field.
the beavers took 26 points from guard seth haake. Altogether, bemidji state had four players finish in double figures and looked to burke lendl for a team high 10 rebounds. They hit an impressive 57.7% from the field in the second half, but could not match concordia's 60% shooting over the same amount of time.
