(Ann Arbor, MI) – Concordia Men's basketball hosted the Saints of Aquinas College (AQ) at the Cardinal Fieldhouse for their third game of WHAC play. Pairing strong rim protection and strength in the paint, Concordia improved to 2-3, notching their first WHAC win to improve to 1-2 in conference play.
The Saints opened up on a 10-0 run until Matt Blanton found his range for his first three of the night. Jack Olis and Colby Chapman helped propel the Cards to a tie game with 11:20 remaining in the 1st when the game began to get more physical as the Saints picked up their 5th foul. After a Ray Washington-Battle free-throw, CUAA would take the lead at 13-12.
The Cardinals would catch fire, going on a 12-5 run, with Chapman totaling 5 points. Washington-Battle and Olis would show their strength at the rim by putting back their offensive rebounds and scoring, respectively. CUAA was strong on the glass, collecting 21 rebounds, including 7 offensive rebounds. The Fieldhouse erupted when Washington-Battle came down with back-to-back offensive rebounds and found Jason Jergens, who drained a wide-open three from the corner. The light show wasn't over yet, as Olis and Jergens continued to display their skill from range with a three-pointer a piece. The Cards would ride this high till the buzzer at half as they led 34-25.
Jergens' pressure on the Saints led to a steal where Chapman found Blanton to open the second. Minutes later, CUAA's Mason Canfield and AQ's Devon Boyd traded three-pointers to up the score to 41-28. The Saints would find some of that early magic and take the lead at 49-48 after a dominant 21-7 run when Coach Ryan Bertoia of Aquinas called a timeout.
After another media timeout, the Cards were able to find their wings. Mark DeVries shutdown a two on one rush for the Saints with a big block in the paint. The game continued on the same path as the first as both teams accumulated three fouls half way through the final half. DeVries helped tie the game at 50 using his height in the paint to collect a rebound and his first basket. Both teams continued to attack the paint relentlessly trading free throws and layups. Washington-Battle battled his way through the paint to tie the game at 58. Concordia continued to live in the paint as the Saints continued to foul them, leading to the Cards being in the bonus at 5:51.
DeVries muscled his way to reclaim the lead at 66-64, followed by a clutch three-pointer from Jergens to extend it to 69-65. Mason Canfield showcased his vision, setting up Washington-Battle for back-to-back layups to push the lead to 73-69. Despite Concordia's efforts, the Saints tied the game at 73 with under a minute remaining.
With 33.9 seconds left, Olis collected a loose ball and found Mason Canfield, who drained a deep three with 2.6 seconds remaining to put CUAA ahead 76-73. A late foul allowed Aquinas to close the gap with free throws, but Concordia secured the inbound and ran out the clock to clinch the victory.
The Cardinals return to action on Tuesday December 3rd, hosting St. Mary-of-the-Woods with tip-off set for 7:00 PM.
