(Ann Arbor, MI) – Concordia men's basketball held their home opener Wednesday night, facing off against the Lancers of Grace College. The Lancers were playing their first game of the year while the Cardinals looked for their first win. While CUAA held the lead at halftime, Grace pulled away late in the game to earn an 88-78 win.
Zackary Johnson led the Cardinals with 19 points in the game. Thomas Hronis finished a close second with 17 points. Jordan Winowiecki finished 9 points, going 3-7 from behind the arc. Colton Ritsema led the team with 5 rebounds while adding 8 points.
A triple from Zackary Johnson began a 7-0 CUAA opening run with Jaedyn Carter and Matt Lockhart adding layups. Concordia continued to attack the rim, but the Lancers pulled within 2 at the 15:38 mark with CUAA holding a 13-11 lead.
Grace went up 22-21 just over the halfway mark of the 1st half. Tyler Black split the defense for a layup to get his name on the scoreboard at the 8:44 mark. With the Cardinals trailing 29-23, Thomas Hronis began to heat up with a pair of triples and two free throws to reclaim a CUAA lead.
The lead changed hands several times in the final minutes with Jordan Winowiecki drilling a 3-pointer from the corner and Jaedyn Carter nailing a triple. Colton Ritsema scored in the paint and a 3-pointer from Bernard Kasanda gave CUAA a 43-40 lead at halftime.
Zackary Johnson converted an old-fashioned three-point play for Concordia's first points in the 2nd half. A 3-pointer from Thomas Hronis tied the game 51-51 at the 16:17 mark. After a 6-0 Grace run, Jordan Winowiecki knocked down a triple in the corner to cut the deficit in half.
Concordia kept pace with driving layups from Thomas Hronis and Zackary Johnson. Hronis added a step-back layup a minute later, but Grace used an 8-1 run to extend their lead to 72-63. Colton Ritsema used a pair of post moves to end the run.
Grace used 8 unanswered points to go back up by double digits. Zackary Johnson ended the run with a 3-pointer over his defender, but the Lancers defense was able to hold for the rest of the game. Despite a late triple from Jordan Winowiecki, the Cardinals fell 88-78.
