NAC North crown at stake for Men's Basketball Tuesday

Northern Athletics Conference Standings

MEQUON, Wis. -- Concordia University Wisconsin men's basketball head coach Shawn Cassidy and his Falcons will have plenty of motivation when they host second place Edgewood College Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in the R. John Buuck Field House.

Fans unable to make it to Mequon can follow the action with live video streaming or live statistics.

Not only will the teams be meeting with a share of the NAC North title at stake for Edgewood, but a variety of other advantages go to the winner.

CUW will be looking to avenge a disappointing 83-69 road loss when the teams met for the first time this season on Jan. 19 in Madison. In that initial Jan. 19, 2012 meeting, EC shot an impressive 61.2 percent from the field against CUW's defense.

Edgewood's top scorers, Ben Wisniewski and Kent Faurote were held to 15 and 13 points respectively in that contest, but guard Derek Nkemnji exploded for 17 points and reserve Cashton Craig added 15. The Eagles also outrebounded the Falcons 32-29.

That earlier defeat, coupled with an Eagle win on Tuesday, would give EC the No. 1 seed in the NAC North Division based on head-to-head competition. In that unwanted scenario, both schools would finish with three league defeats, but EC would have the upperhand in the seeding with the sweep over CUW.

NAC Challenge games against the NAC South Division opponents next Saturday will determine overall seeding for the conference tournament the following week. That three round tourney beginning February 21st produces the NCAA automatic qualifier.

CUW has been led this season by seniors Luke Doedens (Cedarburg, Wis.) and Mitchell Schneider (New Holstein, Wis.) who are averaging 16.5 and 14.5 points per game, respectively. Senior Matt Paluchniak (Oostburg, Wis.) is second in the conference with 120 assists, while Doedens has grabbed 122 rebounds and junior Steve Zielinski (Brown Deer, Wis.) has rejected 29 field goal attempts.

EC has three players averaging in double figures; Faurote (15.1), Wisniewski (14.7) and Craig (11.6).

Cassidy's team brings a four game winning streak, plus six consecutive victories in league play, into the contest. The Falcons look to capture their THIRD consecutive outright NAC North Division crown with a victory on Tuesday.

CUW coaches and players hope that home crowd energy will also be a factor as it was last Wednesday when the Falcons rallied late to defeat arch-rival Lakeland 106-102 in double overtime.