Men’s Basketball routs Wisconsin Lutheran, stays undefeated at home

MEQUON, Wis. - Matt Paluchniak, Nick Doedens and the Concordia University Wisconsin men's basketball team love to get out and run. When they're allowed to do it, games can get out of control quickly, evident by Wednesday's nights 90-64 victory over Wisconsin Lutheran College during Northern Athletics Conference play.

Paluchniak dished out a career-high 11 assists, Doedens scored a career-high 21 points, Ben Brooke added a career-high 14 points and the Falcons remained undefeated at home this season with their fifth blowout win inside the R. John Buuck Field House.

CUW built a 25-point lead with three and a half minutes to play the opening half and the Warriors got no closer than 15 points the remainder of the game. Furthermore, with Edgewood College's loss at Marian University, the Falcons moved into sole possession of first place in the NAC North Division and became the first team in the league to clinch a spot in the post-season tournament.

Doedens (Germantown, Wis.) drained a career-best five 3-pointers and the senior guard finished 8-of-13 from the field. It didn't take long for the crowd to see that Paluchniak had control of the offense, dishing out four assists less than five minutes into the contest. The senior point guard from Oostburg, Wis., had six helpers by halftime and also stole a season-high four passes.

Junior Brian Jackson (Carol Stream, Ill.) and senior Mitchell Schneider (New Holstein, Wis.) chipped in 14 and 12 points, respectively. Jackson led the Falcons with six rebounds, and Brooke and freshman Garrett Wenzelburger (Hartland, Wis.) each corralled five rebounds. Brooke concluded the win 6-for-6 from the floor.

Tim Demuth led WLC (3-15, 2-8 NAC) with 21 points, including five 3-pointers, on 8-of-15 shooting. Alex Merbach scored 12 points and Julion Griffin finished with the games only double-double, 10 points and 12 rebounds.

During the opening 9:52, CUW had a lead no larger than single digits before Doedens nailed back-to-back triples to jump start a 22-4 run that gave the Falcons a comfortable 42-18 lead with 5:18 to play in the opening half.

The Falcons bench scored 31 points as they entered the locker room with a 48-29 lead. CUW also outscored WLC 24-16 in the painted area. Doedens and Brooke combined to score 26 first period points on 11-of-14 shooting, including four long balls.

The second half featured 11 Falcons adding to the scoreboard, as CUW shot 60.3 percent (38-of-63) for the game and 50 percent (9-of-18) beyond the 3-point arc.

CUW's bench scored a season-best 51 points on a combined 21-of-37 from the field. The Falcons also held a 46-34 advantage in paint scoring. The game featured just two scoring ties.

CUW returns to the hardwood on Friday at 8:15 p.m. when it faces Concordia University Chicago at the 61st Annual Concordia Invitational Tournament. The Falcons will play either Concordia University Nebraska or Concordia University Ann Arbor on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. (consolation) or 7:15 p.m. (championship).

Fans unable to travel to River Forest, Ill., for CIT can follow the entire tournament - men's and women's games - via live statistics and video. Visit the CUW men's or women's basketball schedule pages for links.