Falcons edge Regents with free throw shooting

MEQUON, Wis. – Concordia University Wisconsin put the game away in the second half at the free throw line on Saturday en route to a 79-74 victory over Rockford University. The Falcons also performed well and scored over half of its points in the paint.

As the Regents stayed within five points during the last nine minutes and threatened to take control of the game, it was the Falcons 17-of-22 performance at the free throw line which gave them the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference win.

CUW also stole 11 passes and won the turnover battle for the fifth-straight game. More importantly, 10 players found the scoring column and six had at least seven points in a balanced attack. Junior Keith Kahlfeldt (New Berlin, Wis.) paced all players with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting.

Senior Mark Scholz (Greenfield, Wis.) tallied nine points off the bench and dished out four assists, while freshman Matt Wilke (Sheboygan Falls, Wis.) stole a career-high three passes. Junior Bradley Prinsen (Oostburg, Wis.) recorded eight points and two steals, and junior Brett Boettcher (New Holstein, Wis.) finished with seven points, seven rebounds, four assists and a career-high-tying three blocks.

The Falcons received 28 points from their reserves and junior Taron Edwards (Racine, Wis.) had six points, career-high-tying three assists and two steals, while junior James Mitchell (St. Louis, Mo.) scored five points.

Brandon Tyson paced the Regents with 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting, to go along with six rebounds (four offensive). John O'Bryan finished with 18 points, including three 3-pointers, while assists on five field goals and blocking two shots. Zach Wallace recorded 13 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Kenny Parks sparked RU early with four 3-pointers in the first half.

The Regents jumped out in front early and led by 10 points twice with a barrage of 3-pointers, but the Falcons slowly chipped away at the deficit. CUW put together a 9-0 scoring run over a 3:19 span to get with a point, 20-19. RU led by a slim 35-31 margin at the intermission, despite CUW scoring 20 points in the paint and getting 15 points from its bench.

The second half featured two scoring ties and three lead changes, but it was the Falcons who took control of the momentum with a 12-0 scoring run during a quick two minutes and 27 second run. The Regents (3-10, 2-6 NACC) led for a brief 16 seconds, before CUW starting draining its free throws over the last five minutes.

CUW (5-6, 4-4 NACC) returns to action on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. NACC game against Concordia University Chicago inside the R. John Buuck Field House.