Falcon men rally past Benedictine

MEQUON, Wis.-  Concordia Wisconsin, 7-5 overall, improved to 4-1 in conference play by rallying after halftime to defeat upstart Benedictine in the Buuck Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon.

Early on it was the Eagles (3-11/ 1-4 NAC) who were the aggressors as they built leads of up to seven points in the first half and led 33-28 at the break. 

CUW came out with added hustle and a better shooting eye in the final twenty minutes, but still had to fend off BenU in the final two minutes after the visitors closed to within 53-51. 

A pair of layups by Steve Zielinski (Sr./ Brown Deer, Wis.) and a brace of Mark Pace (Sr./ Milwaukee, Wis.) free throws upped the margin to 59-51 over the next 90 seconds and the Falcons were home free.  Center Zielinski finished with a game-high 17 points and also helped to create several defensive stops down the stretch via blocked shots.  Pace and Brian Jackson (Carol Stream, Ill.) added 16 and 10 respectively.

Both teams were anemic from beyond the arc with BenU hitting only two of 14 from long range and the Falcons even worse at 2-16.  Not a single Eagle reached double figures.

Shawn Cassidy's forces committed 17 turnovers, but negated that disadvantage by winning the rebound battle 42-33 and holding BenU to 31% shooting for the game.

The Falcons, who remain one game behind undefeated Lakeland (5-0) in conference play, host third place MSOE (3-1) on Wednesday at 7:00pm in the Buuck Fieldhouse.