MEQUON, Wis. – In a rematch of last year's NACC Championship game the Concordia Unveristy Wisconsin Men's Basketball team were topped 92-91 by Aurora University in the high intensity game.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Aurora 92, Concordia Wisconsin 91
Location: R. John Buuck Fieldhouse (Mequon, Wis.)
Records: Concordia Wisconsin 5-3 (4-2 NACC), Aurora 6-1 (4-1 NACC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- CUW and Aurora traded punches for the first half with neither team led by more than six in the first 20 minutes of play. The lead changed hands multiple times but Aurora would go into the locker with a five point lead.
- Coming out in the second half, Aurora would push their lead to nine but the Falcons would not go away as they slowly fought back and chipped away at the Spartans lead.
- CUW would gain the momentum as they put together an impressive 18-2 run about five minutes into the second half of play. Sophomore guard Josh Erickson (Manitowoc, Wis.), who finished with 14 points, would drain back-to-back triples during the run to tie the game and then give the Falcons the lead.
- Aurora would counter with a 14-6 run of their own to regain the lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the ball game.
- From there, CUW would tie it back up, take and hold the lead for the next six minutes of play but Aurora would build a five point lead with under a minute to play, which would be enough for them to hold on for the 92-91 win.
- The Falcons would pull within one but there was not enough time for them to get off a potential game winning shot after two missed free-throws by the Spartans.
- Junior guard Eric Kittel (Brillion, Wis.) led the Falcons with 21 points on the afternoon
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- CUW committed a season-low, nine turnovers, but shot a season-low 29.2% (7-of-24) from beyond the arc.
- The Falcons pulled in a season-high 16 offensive rebounds, five coming from senior guard Malcolm Bowers (Germantown, Wis.).
- Erickson's 14 points, is a new career-high for the sophomore guard while senior forward James Mitchell added 16 points to tie his career-high.
- CUW's bench outscored Aurora's bench 25-6.
THE OPPOSITION
- Aurora was led by senior Tyler Hall who scored a game-high 28 points and also dished out a game-high eight assists.
- Kalmon Stokes also chipped in with 22 points and pulled in a game-high nine rebounds.
NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE
- The Falcons have a week off as they take on finals week in the classroom, but return to action on Sunday Dec. 20 and Monday Dec. 21 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They face Salisbury on Sunday at 2 pm AST and then take on Randolph on Monday at 2 pm EST.
