Double-digit leads vanish; late FT misses cost Men's Basketball

LISLE, Ill. - Concordia University Wisconsin's men's basketball team had a chance to seal the game in the final minute at the free throw line, but three misses cost them in a 66-65 loss to Benedictine University during Northern Athletics Conference play on Saturday inside the Rice Center.

BenU nailed a jumper with 3:01 remaining in the game to take a three-point lead, before senior Nick Doedens answered with a triple from the top of the key to tie the ball game at 64-64 with just over a minute to play.

The Eagles (3-2, 2-0 NAC) missed a 3-pointer and field goal on their next two possessions, which forced them into fouling the Falcons. CUW made just 1-of-4 free throws during a 32 second span.

Following a BenU timeout, Michael Woolf went coast-to-coast through a CUW full-court press to make a layup with 2.7 seconds left in the game. The Falcons (5-2, 2-1 NAC) worked senior Luke Doedens (Cedarburg, Wis.) open for a game-winning 3-point shot, but his shot was off the mark.

The conference loss for CUW snapped a 20-game NAC winning streak. The last time the Falcons lost a conference game was Feb. 13, 2010 when it dropped a 63-61 road game to Maranatha Baptist Bible College.

Senior Mitchell Schneider (New Holstein, Wis.) recorded his first double-double of the season, 12 points and 10 rebounds, to lead CUW. Luke Doedens and junior Brian Jackson (Carol Stream, Ill.) each scored 11 points apiece, respectively. The Falcons outscored the Eagles 26-14 in the paint.

Mark Pace led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including 6-of-7 at the free throw line for BenU. Jamison Montgomery and Woolf finished the game with 16 and 10 points, respectively. Pace also stole three passes and blocked two shots.

The Falcons jumped out to a quick 11-3 lead just over three minutes into the game behind a pair of layups and a Jackson 3-pointer. CUW built its lead to as many as 12 points, on two occasions, the second with 8:08 left in the opening half.

CUW took a slim 31-29 lead in the locker room at halftime. The Falcons held a 16-4 advantage in paint scoring at the break.

BenU opened the second half by tying the game twice, before CUW used an 11-0 run to take a 50-39 lead with 11:31 remaining in the game. The Eagles answered with a 15-4 run of their own to tie the game at 54-54 with just over seven minutes to play.

The game featured 10 lead changes and nine scoring ties.

CUW returns to action on Wednesday in a road NAC contest against Marian University at 7 p.m.