Falcons' Second-Half Run Dooms Warriors

MEQUON, Wis. - Concordia Wisconsin erased an eight-point deficit early in the second half with a 19-3 run and the Wisconsin Lutheran College men's basketball team could never quite recover as the Falcons defeated the Warriors 88-80 on Tuesday night inside the R. John Buuck Field House.

THE BASICS

• Final Score: Concordia Wisconsin 88, Wisconsin Lutheran 80
• Records: Wisconsin Lutheran (10-12, 8-9 NACC), Concordia Wisconsin (13-9, 11-6 NACC)
• Location: R. John Buuck Field House, Mequon, Wis. | Attendance: 497

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Warriors jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead within the first minute of the game, but the Falcons stormed back with 11 straight points and led for most of the first half. The six-point advantage was Concordia Wisconsin's biggest lead of the opening 20 minutes.
• CUW held a 21-15 lead at the 7:41 mark before WLC rattled off 14 consecutive points to take an eight-point lead at 29-21, its largest of the first half. The Warriors carried a 35-30 advantage into halftime.
• Wisconsin Lutheran shot 40 percent (12-of-30), while Concordia Wisconsin was held to just 26.2 percent (11-of-42) in the first frame. Collin Kennedy (Holmen, Wis./Luther) paced the Warriors with 10 first-half points. The Falcons attempted 23 three-pointers in the opening frame, making just four for 17.4 percent.
• WLC scored the first four points of the second half to take a 39-30 lead, its largest of the game.
• The Warriors led 45-37 before a 19-3 Falcons run gave them a lead they would never relinquish.
• CUW led by a game-high 13 points with 8:42 remaining and WLC would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
• Both teams shot it well in the second half as WLC shot 51.6 percent (16-for-31) and CUW shot an even 50 percent (18-for-36).

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Collin Kennedy poured in a game-high 27 points to lead four players in double-figures for the Warriors. It was the 11th straight game that the second-highest freshman scorer in NCAA Division III has scored 20 or more points in a game.
• Chase Nowak (Milwaukee, Wis./St. Francis) followed with 19 on 7-of-9 shooting, while Jake Jarnigo (Lake Mills, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran) and Jim Marose (Waukesha, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Tanner Schieve (Slinger, Wis./Slinger) dished out 11 of the team's 15 assists.
• WLC shot a season-high 85.7 percent (18-of-21) from the free-throw line and tied a season-best with five blocks. 
• The Warriors committed 18 turnovers, their second-most of the season, which CUW turned into 20 points.
• The Falcons out-scored the Warriors 24-14 in second-chance points after out-rebounding WLC 23-10 on the offensive glass.
• Trevor Krizenesky and Josh Erickson came off the bench to spark the Falcons with 21 and 17 points, respectively.

UP NEXT

• The Warriors play their final regular season road game on Saturday when they travel to River Forest, Ill., to take on Concordia Chicago (5-17, 4-13 NACC). CUC defeated WLC 89-85 in their first meeting of the season on December 12. The Cougars suffered their ninth-straight conference loss on Tuesday, falling to second-ranked Benedictine 111-59. Live stats and video will be available for the game at WLCSports.com.