(Southfield, MI) Concordia Men's Basketball opened up their WHAC season with a game on the road against Lawrence Tech. Concordia jumped out to an early lead and held off the Blue Devils, never letting them get more than a two-point lead the rest of the game, ultimately winning down the stretch 72-70.
Zavion McClendon played 39 minutes for the Cardinals, and was a rebound short of a double-double, scoring a team high 25 points. Dylan Jergens and Nate Brighton both surpassed double digits in points, racking up 21 and 12 points respectively.
Zavion McClendon drained a triple on Concordia's first possession of the game to start what would be a 9-1 run in the first three minutes. Lawrence Tech answered a Dylan Jergens three pointer with two of their own, and were able to claw their way back into the game. The Blue Devils tied it up at 12 a piece seven minutes into the game, but Concordia responded with a 9-2 run which included a Dylan Jergens old fashioned three-point play. Mason Canfield came off the bench and sank a three, but Lawrence Tech scored 12 unanswered points to take their first two-point lead of the game. It would not last long when Zavion McClendon hit a three to give the Cardinals the lead again, which they wouldn't surrender until the final two minutes of the game. Nate Brighton made back-to-back three pointers following that to help Concordia take a 9-point lead into the half.
Zavion McClendon ended the first half with a three, and then hit another on Concordia's first possession of the second half. The Cardinals maintained a healthy lead for much of the start of the second half. Both sides had a three-minute scoring drought in the middle of the half, broken when Nate Brighton laid in a shot. Slowly but surely, the Blue Devils worked their way back into the game, culminating when they took a one-point lead with 1:44 remaining in the game. Dylan Jergens reclaimed the lead with a pair of points from the line, but Lawrence Tech was able to knot the game up at 70 with 14 seconds left. On the Cardinals' final possession of the game, it was Dylan Jergens who drove to his right and laid in what would end up being the game winning shot with six seconds remaining. The Cardinals were then forced to make one last stop defensively, and did so successfully, not allowing the Blue Devils to get a shot off in the final seconds of play.
Concordia will continue WHAC play when they host (RV) Rochester on Saturday, November 18th. Tipoff is set for 3:00 PM in the Cardinal Fieldhouse.
