MEQUON, Wis. - In the first-ever playoff matchup between the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons and the Concordia University Chicago Cougars, the Falcons secured an impressive 82-68 victory, advancing to the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Tournament Semifinals.
With the win, the Blue and White improved to 15-11 on the season and 8-2 at the R. John Buuck Fieldhouse. "It was great having a home game in front of our crowd," remarked head coach Shawn Cassidy following the team's victory. "They have been outstanding all season, making the R. John Buuck Fieldhouse a true home-court advantage."
A jump shot by junior Logan Landers (Cedarburg, Wis.) tied the game at 7-7. On the subsequent possession, sophomore Severin Hilt (West Bend, Wis.) sank a three-pointer, prompting a timeout from CUC.
Later, senior Zach Leahy (West Dundee, Ill.) extended the Falcons' lead to five with a quick layup. The Falcons maintained their five-point advantage, with sophomore Jayden Guyton (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) finishing a spin move at the rim to put CUW ahead 22-17 with just under nine minutes remaining.
Sophomore Mekhi Sutton (San Diego, Calif.) continued CUW's scoring with a tough step-back jump shot while a layup by Casey Verhagen (Sheboygan, Wis.) helped the Falcons build a six-point lead at 26-20.
With the shot clock winding down, Landers navigated through traffic and scored on a driving layup. With one minute left in the half, the Falcons led 38-29, thanks to Landers' post work.
At the break, CUW led 38-31, with Landers contributing 17 points and Hilt knocking down two three-pointers. As a team, the Falcons shot 50 percent from the floor, making 14 of 28 attempts.
Coming out of halftime, the Falcons displayed sharp execution, culminating in a layup by sophomore Matt Merlo (Random Lake, Wis.) following a perfectly run play. Hilt kept his hot streak going, hitting another three-pointer to push the lead to 45-31 in the opening minutes of the second half.
Later, Verhagen completed an old-fashioned three-point play, extending the CUW lead to 53-40 with 15:11 left. On the ensuing possession, Merlo and the Falcons broke the press, with Merlo finishing a dunk off a pass from Landers.
The Falcons' strong second-half start continued as Landers dished a pass to Verhagen on a backdoor cut, giving CUW a 57-42 lead and forcing a Cougar timeout at the 14:16 mark.
However, the Cougars stayed competitive, and with 10 minutes remaining, the Falcons led 59-51.
As the game progressed, the Falcons continued to break the press, with freshman Luke Eggemeyer (Perryville, Mo.) scoring off a dump pass from Verhagen. The Falcons' lead slowly grew to 14, with Landers converting back-to-back mid-range jumpers to extend the lead to 69-55.
The Falcons continued to assert control, with Merlo finishing another dunk off a Landers assist. Merlo later extended the lead to 21 with a three-pointer.
Senior Adam Bruins (Oak Creek, Wis.) sealed the victory with a three-pointer, and the Falcons triumphed 82-68.
In the win, Landers recorded 30 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. This marked his fourth 30-point game, with three of those coming in his last five games. Defensively, Landers also tied his career-high in blocks.
Merlo added 14 points and six rebounds, along with one steal and one block.
Verhagen set a single-season free-throw record, making four in the contest and brought his season total to 153, surpassing the previous high of 150 set by Ryan Wietor during the 2003-04 season. Verhagen finished with 12 points and eight assists.
Meanwhile, Hilt went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. As a team, the Falcons shot 53.8 percent from the floor, making 28 of 52 attempts. For the eighth time this season, the Falcons shot over 40 percent from three-point range, hitting 6 of 14 attempts. Defensively, the Falcons recorded seven blocks and five steals.
The Falcons will now advance to the NACC Tournament Semifinals, where they will face the nationally ranked Warriors of Wisconsin Lutheran College. In the regular season, the Warriors won both previous matchups. The last time these two teams met in the conference tournament was in 2020, when the Falcons defeated WLC 96-83.
