Jan. 11, 2008
Box Score
Game Notes Courtesy of Jen Foley, Concordia-St. Paul Sports Information Director
It was a tale of two halves as Upper Iowa used a 33-9 run to begin to start the second half to overcome a 43-29 halftime deficit en route to a 71-68 win over the Golden Bears in NSIC action at the Gangelhoff Center Friday night.
The Golden Bears jumped out to a quick 20-4 lead in the first seven minutes on baskets by six different players, led by Mike Cunningham's six points.
Concordia would stretch their first half lead to as many as 21 points at 41-20 with 3:55 to play and 43-22 at 3:25. Eight players scored in the first half, led by sophomore Craig Heiman with ten points. He would finish with a team-high 18 points.
The Golden Bears got 17 points off the bench in the first half, let by freshman Andrew Kuderer, who scored a career-high seven points in the first half, shooting 3-4 from the floor, including 1-1 from beyond the arc. Matt Hackl also had seven points in the first frame.
Upper Iowa ended the first half on a 7-0 run to cut the Concordia lead from 43-22 with 3:25 to 43-29 at the break.
The Peacocks started the second half in the same fashion, scoring the first two points of the half and went on to outscore Concordia 33-9 over the first 14 minutes of the second half to take a 62-50 lead with 5:37 left in the game. The UIU run was fueled by Matt Lesan (13 points), A.J. Adkins (8 points), and Dan Bestul (4 points). The Peacocks took the lead with 9:32 to play, 50-49.
Concordia did not surrender as they chipped away at the lead getting a three point play by Heiman, followed by a Heiman jump shot to cut the lead to four at 62-58 with 3:37 to play.
After a pair of Peacock free throws by Adkins, Concordia countered with two free throws and a jump shot to get within two at 64-62 with 2:53 left.
The Golden Bears tied the score at 64-64 on a pair of free throws and took the lead, 66-65, on a Cunningham lay-up with 59 seconds remaining.
But Lesan would make four straight free throws to give the Peacocks a 69-66 lead with 0:26 to play. Heiman hit a circus lay-up while falling to the ground with 0:09 to play to get the Golden Bears to within one, but Chandler Adams secured the win with a pair of free throws with 0:03 on the clock.
A three-point attempt at the buzzer rattled off the back of the rim and the Peacocks won their second NSIC contest of the season. The Peacocks overall record improved to 3-12 and their conference record improved to 2-4 with the win.
Matt Cadwell finished the night with 13, giving him 999 career points, while Cunningham ended the evening with 11 points.
Upper Iowa was led by Lesan who scored 26 points, 17 coming in the second half, while Adkins added 13 points. Dan Bestul returned from injury to score 9 points, while Neil Gross and Adams each chipped in 6. Jude Roybal and Chris Sullivan each handed out 4 assists for the Peacocks. Gross led UIU on the boards with 10, while Sullivan grabbed 7, Alex Kramer pulled down 6, and Lesan nabbed 5. Upper Iowa out rebounded Concordia 39-27.
The Bears shot an impressive 58.6% in the first half making 17-29, but converted just 9-27 (33.3%) in the second half. Upper Iowa finished the night 23-54 (42.6%) from the floor after firing at a 48% clip in the second half.
The Peacocks secured the win at the free throw line making 14-15 (93.3%) in the second half and 18-21 (85.7%) for the game, while Concordia struggled from the line converting just 11-19 (57.9%).
Upper Iowa will look to earn their third win in a row and fourth in its last five games as they move on to Moorhead, Minnesota. The Peacocks will face the Dragons of Minnesota State Moorhead tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m.
