Marian steals a NACC victory from Men's Basketball

Mequon, Wis. – Concordia Wisconsin's Men's Basketball team had chances to take the lead at the end of the game but couldn't get a late layup to fall and ultimately fell to the Marian Sabres 60-57 in a close NACC matchup inside the R. John Buuck Field House.  

THE BASICS
Final Score: Marian 60, Concordia Wisconsin 57
Location: R. John Buuck Field House (Mequon, Wis.)
Records: Concordia Wisconsin 11-10, 9-7 NACC; Marian 9-11, 8-7 NACC

HOW IT HAPPENED
- In the closing seconds of the final period, the Falcons had a shot to take the lead with eight seconds to go when freshman Jordan Johnson (Cedarburg, Wis.) corralled an offensive rebound and couldn't get the contested close-range shot to fall. The Sabres Tyrese Pinson came up with the ball and was fouled but missed the ensuing two-foul shots. Pinson did come down with the offensive rebound and with eight-tenths of a second left to play, he was fouled again leading to two free throws. Pinson sunk them both and grabbed the 60-57 victory for the Sabres.
- The difference in the low scoring affair came down to the ability to hold onto the ball. CUW had a tough time all night, as they committed 30 turnovers and allowed 26 points off those turnovers to Marian. Concordia Wisconsin had 16 turnovers in the second half to go along with 6-of-18 shooting from the field. It was a great night from the free throw line for the  Falcons, as they went 21-of-24 from the line for game and 17-of-20 in the second half to keep pace with the Sabres late in the contest.
- Johnson was the leader for CUW, as he scored 15 points and ripped down 10 rebounds and went 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Junior Josh Hau (Slinger, Wis.) followed with 13 points and four rebounds and two assists on the night. The Falcons also saw solid production from sophomore Olalekan George (Milwaukee, Wis.) who posted five points, six rebounds and three monster blocks as he protected the rim for Concordia Wisconsin.
- In a grind it out style game, CUW shot 37.2 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from behind the three-point line.  They did win the rebounding battle 46-29 and edged out Marian in points in the paint by a total of 14-12.

THE OPPOSITION
- Will Olewinski was a key member for the Sabres draining four threes on his way to a team-high 14 points while coming off the bench. Pinson caused havoc all night grabbing six steals, four rebounds and eight points. Tristan Van Ess and Evan Hansen both came away with 10 points to provide much-needed buckets for Marian.   

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Concordia Wisconsin holds the edge in the series with a record of 29-10. After ripping off six straight wins CUW has dropped the last two contests to Marian.

NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE
- The Falcons will host NACC leader Benedictine on Tuesday with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 pm.