Falcons Defend Home Court Against Aurora

MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin men's basketball team notched its third win in its past four games on Wednesday night, topping a conference foe in the Aurora Spartans, 68-64. Senior Freeman Jackson (Green Bay, Wis.) led the Falcons offensively, tying a season-high with 25 points.

"When you struggle on the offensive end, you need your seniors to step up and find a way to win," said head coach Shawn Cassidy. " Tonight, Freeman put us on his back and carried us until we were able to secure the win."

The Spartans controlled the game's pace in its opening minutes, surging to a 10-3 lead. On the other side of a timeout, Concordia marched its way back to even on the scoreboard through a 13-6 run. A three-pointer from senior Sam Meerstein (Green Bay, Wis.) granted the Falcons a temporary lead, but an opposing triple from Noah Butler swung the scoreboard back in Aurora's favor. Both squads would go on to tally six points heading into the break, at which point the Spartans held a 29-27 advantage.

Jackson stood as the lone Falcon to notch double-digits in the opening 20 minutes of play, while senior Gabe Pruss (North Fond du Lac, Wis.) collected two of his four blocks.

Concordia broke out to begin the second half, collecting the frame's first nine points. Senior Zech Hans (Hartland, Wis.) and junior Jonah Jurss (Sheboygan, Wis.) knocked down triples, while Jackson completed a three-point play in the stretch. Hans and junior Adam Bruins (Oak Creek, Wis.) would go on to bury three-pointers in the following minutes, expanding the lead to nine points.

However, Michael Osborne spearheaded a scoring run for the Spartans in the ensuing minutes, contributing seven of the team's nine points to even the game at 44.

Aurora battled to gain control of the game once more, but Jackson had an answer for every score, knocking down five consecutive shots for the Falcons. When the dust settled on the back-and-forth scoring action, Concordia emerged with a slim 54-53 lead.

While the Falcons held the lead for the minutes that followed, Aurora guard Isaiah Davis hit a triple to square the game at 62 with just over one minute remaining in play. Once again, Concordia found the answer, as Meerstein retook the three-point lead on the following possession.

The shot proved to put the Falcons in front for good, as the defense managed to stave off a late comeback attempt from Aurora. Largely contributing to the victory was a dominating performance from the free throw line late in the game, which saw Concordia sink seven of its last eight to close the contest.

The Falcons will look to put another entry into the win column in their next contest against the 17-4 Wisconsin Lutheran Warriors on February 3.