MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin men's basketball team closed out 2024 in fantastic fashion on Tuesday afternoon. The Falcons extended its winning streak to four games with the 114-95 victory over Concordia Chicago.
Sophomore Matt Merlo (Random Lake, Wis.) started the scoring on Tuesday afternoon with an easy layup.
The Falcons reclaimed the early lead with a pair of three-point baskets from junior Logan Landers (Cedarburg, Wis.) and sophomore Mekhi Sutton (San Diego, Calif.), elevating it to 9-4.
The Cougars clawed back with a 7-0 run to reclaim the lead.
Leading 16-14, the Falcons earned some separation with a 12-0 run. Logan Landers scored the last five points of the run to give CUW a 28-14 lead.
The Falcons were lethal from behind the arc late in the first half with a basket from sophomore Severin Hilt (West Bend, Wis.) and sophomore Casey Verhagen (Sheboygan, Wis.).
The first half turned into a free-throw contest. The two teams shot a combined 40 free throws, with the Cougars making 18 of 24 and the Falcons making 14 of 16.
A pair of free throws from Casey Verhagen gave the Falcons a 63-42 lead at halftime. The 63 points are the most in any half for the season.
The Cougars tried to claw back and cut the CUW lead to 67-51 with 17:23 left.
The Blue and White bounced back with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes. A run that was capped off with a three-point basket from Severin Hilt.
Hilt sank another three-point basket with 12:37 left in the half to give the Falcons their biggest lead of the night at 83-55.
Sophomore Jacob Christjohn (Milwaukee, Wis.) put the Falcons over the 100-point mark for the first time since the first game of 2024 on Jan. 6 against Dominican with a three-point basket off an assist from Logan Landers.
Senior Adam Bruins (Oak Creek, Wis.) finished off the scoring for the Falcons on Tuesday with a three-point shot from in front of the CUW bench.
Logan Landers led the contest with a season-high 30 points in the victory to go with his seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
Matt Merlo finished with a double-double performance with 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Casey Verhagen quieted the Cougars with 24 points on Tuesday. Mekhi Sutton also reached double-digit points at 11 with five assists and rebounds.
Concordia Wisconsin finished with a season-best 114 points. The 114 points are the most since the program record of 127 points against Concordia Chicago on Feb. 20, 2016. The Falcons also had a season-best 39 field goals, a .609 field goal percentage, 12 three-point baskets, a .545 three-point percentage, 25 assists and eight blocks.
The Falcons finished 24 of 28 from the free-throw line.
The Blue and White open 2025 on Jan. 4 at MSOE.
