Men’s Basketball returns home for pair of NAC games

MEQUON, Wis. - Concordia University Wisconsin's men's basketball team returns home for a pair of Northern Athletics Conference games this week, Tuesday and Thursday, inside the friendly confines of the R. John Buuck Field House. After a difficult stretch that featured one home game in the past two weeks, the Falcons are ready to begin their charge towards sole possession of first place in the NAC North Division.

CUW hosts Marian University on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before welcoming Maranatha Baptist Bible College on Thursday at 7 p.m. The MBBC game is being made up from its originally scheduled date, Jan. 12, because of inclement weather.

Fans unable to make it to the game can watch the contest via live video (Matt Menzl on the play-by-play call) or live statistics.

CUW (14-5, 9-2 NAC) split a pair of non-conference games at the 61st Annual Concordia Invitational Tournament this past weekend. The Falcons downed Concordia University Chicago, 66-65, on a 3-pointer by junior Brian Jackson (Carol Stream, Ill.) with 2.5 seconds remaining on Friday night to advance to the championship game. CUW was unable to capture its third title in five years, falling 69-67 to Concordia University Nebraska on Saturday evening.

During the two game stretch, seniors Luke Doedens (Cedarburg, Wis.) and Mitchell Schneider, along with Jackson, all averaged in double-figures. Jackson led the team with 5.5 rebounds per game while senior Matt Paluchniak (Oostburg, Wis.) dished out 11 assists.

On the season, Doedens is third in the conference in scoring with a 16.8 points per game average. The 6-foot-5 guard is also second in the nation with a 3-point average of 49.5 percent, as of Jan. 29. Paluchniak is third in the league with a 5.1 assists per game average. The 6-foot-1 righty is also 20th nationally, as of Jan. 29, with a 2.59 assist-to-turnover ratio.

MU (7-12, 4-7 NAC) recently knocked off Edgewood College, which is in a three-way tie for first place in the NAC North Division with CUW and Lakeland College. The Sabres held off a late Eagles run to win, 70-69, after Jeff Harris scored a game-high 26 points on 10-of-11 shooting, including four 3-pointers.

Harris, the reigning NAC Player of the Week, is sixth in the league with a 16.3 points per game average. Cody Veleke is shooting a team-best 58.5 percent from the field and ranks 37th nationally, as of Jan. 29.

The last time these two teams met on Dec. 7 the Falcons cruised to an 82-54 road victory at Sadoff Gymnasium. CUW had 14 players score in the win and outscored MU 52-26 in the painted area. The Falcons also outrebounded the Sabres 45-28, including 17 offensive rebounds that were converted into 23 points.