Late free throws allow Men’s Basketball to hang on for NAC win at Dominican

RIVER FOREST, Ill. - Mitchell Schneider scored a game-high 18 points, Luke Doedens added 16 points and the Concordia University Wisconsin men's basketball team earned a 78-75 victory against Dominican University on Saturday afternoon inside the Igini Sports Forum.

The Falcons (9-3, 5-1 NAC) outrebounded the Stars 44-27, and sank clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the win. CUW led by eight in the early stages of the second half and held on down the stretch making 8-of-8 free throws over the final 2:10.

"We battled for 40 minutes tonight and did enough to win the game down the stretch," head coach Shawn Cassidy said. "Nick (Doedens)and Bryan (Donaldson) had outstanding second halves to give us a spark off the bench. Our rebounding was the difference in the game and we were able to overcome an off shooting night with great energy chasing down missed shots and the loose balls."

DU (3-10, 1-4 NAC) led in many of the game's statistical categories, but CUW used its size to win the battle of the boards and score 16 second chance points.

Senior Erik Condia (Orange, Calif.) led all players with eight rebounds and senior Nick Doedens (Germantown, Wis.) came off the bench to score 11 points. Schneider (New Holstein, Wis.) also finished with four rebounds, three assists, two steals and four critical free throw makes in the final minutes. Luke Doedens (Cedarburg, Wis.) grabbed five rebounds, while freshman Ben Brooke (Viroqua, Wis.) scored nine points off the bench.

CUW also took over the lead in the NAC North Division standings when Edgewood, now 4-1, was upset by MSOE Saturday.

The Falcons will return home for two games at the R. John Buuck Fieldhouse next week, when they host Maranatha Baptist Bible College on Thursday, before taking on MSOE next Saturday.