Men’s Basketball earns NAC victory behind balanced scoring attack

FOND dU LAC, Wis. - Concordia University Wisconsin used a balanced scoring attack on Wednesday night to earn an 82-54 Northern Athletics Conference victory over Marian University inside Sadoff Gymnasium.

The Falcons had 14 players score in the victory and used their size to outscore the Sabres 52-26 in the paint. Following a single-digit lead for the majority of the first half, CUW flipped the offensive switch and twice led by 29-points in the win.

"I liked the way we responded after Saturday's loss," head coach Shawn Cassidy said. "We played with a higher intensity level and were focused on winning this game. It was a complete team win and we received consistent effort from everyone that played."

It wasn't just an offensive showcase, as the Falcons (6-2, 3-1 NAC) defense was just as dominant. Seniors Mitchell Schneider (New Holstein, Wis.) and Zach Neumann (Germantown, Wis.) led the team with three steals apiece, respectively, as the team finished with a season-high 15 steals.

"The last five minutes of the first half set the tone for the rest of the game," Cassidy said. "Our rotations led to deflections and steals, which led to easy buckets on the offensive end. Erik (Condia) set the tone in the first half with his rebounding and Zach (Neumann) sparked our offensive outburst in the second half."

Statistically CUW was also outstanding on the glass and finished with a 45-28 rebounding advantage. The Falcons grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and scored 23 second chance points.

"I liked our aggressiveness on the boards," Cassidy said. "Again, it goes back to our consistent play from everyone."

Schneider scored 12 points and senior Luke Doedens (Cedarburg, Wis.) finished with 11 points. Senior center Erik Condia (Orange, Calif.) recorded six points and seven rebounds, six offensive, to go along with two steals.

Cody Veleke led all players with 14 points and had three blocks. Mike Keller and Jeff Harris scored 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Sabres (2-5, 0-3 NAC).

Following a single-digit lead for the first 15 minutes of the game the Falcons used a 13-3 run behind three Neumann layups to take a 37-23 lead.

At the intermission CUW led 39-26 and outrebounded MU 26-13 and had stolen 10 passes.

In the second half the Falcons continued to increase their lead and twice led by 29 points - their largest in the game - with 9:28 remaining in the contest.

The 28-point margin of victory was the largest conference win of the season by CUW.

The Falcons conclude the week on Saturday with a 4:15 p.m. matchup against Aurora University inside the R. John Buuck Field House.