Kahlfeldt scores 26, Falcons drop home game to Eagles

MEQUON, Wis. – In the closest game of the season and likely in program history, Concordia University Wisconsin had a chance to tie the game with a second to play, but failed to get a shot off in an 81-79 loss to Edgewood College on Wednesday night.

With 1.8 seconds to play inside the R. John Buuck Field House, the Eagles had an opportunity to put the game out of reach at the free throw line, but a pair of attempts didn't fall. After the second miss, freshman Matt Wilke (Sheboygan Falls, Wis.) grabbed the rebound and the Falcons' bench immediately called timeout. After a full court pass and another timeout, there was a full second remaining in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference game.

With CUW under its own basket, they ran an inbounds play to perfection and got the ball to Brett Boettcher at the charity stripe, however, the clock expired before he could get a shot off. In all, there were 15 scoring ties and 22 lead changes in the intense contest.

Junior Keith Kahlfeldt (New Berlin, Wis.) kept the Falcons in the game early in the second half, as he scored seven-consecutive and eight-straight points during a seven-and-a-half minute stretch. The forwarded ended the game with a season-high 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Twice in the second half, EC led by six points before CUW put together a 13-5 scoring run to take a two-point lead, 74-72, with 3:54 remaining in the game. The Eagles responded with a six unanswered points to regain the lead, one they wouldn't relinquish.

The Falcons were able to knot the scoreboard at 78-78 with 43 seconds to play after sophomore Eric Kittel (Brillion, Wis.) found his way to the hoop for a left-handed layup. After each team exchanged turnovers, Adam Freitag nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing in front of the Eagles bench to give them an 81-78 advantage. Junior Bradley Prinsen (Oostburg, Wis.) later made the first of two free throws with 3.4 seconds to play for the final point of the game.

Prinsen finished the game with 13 points, including two triples, while Kittel netted 13 points (two 3-pointers) to go along with three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Boettcher (junior, New Holstein, Wis.) had six points, eight rebounds and two assists. Junior James Mitchel (St. Louis, Mo.) added six points in 10 minutes off the bench.

Trevor Neale led the Eagles (10-11, 9-7 NACC) with 19 points, six rebounds, two assists, three blocks and a steal. Joe Klocek scored 17 points in 21 minutes off the bench and Tal Diekvoss had 10 points and eight rebounds. Jake Heuer ended with nine points, eight rebounds (four offensive) and five assists.

Both teams were efficient from downtown, as CUW was 7-of-20 and EC made 8-of-17 long balls. The Falcons struggled at the free throw line and made just 14-of-25 attempts. The Eagles finished with a 38-18 advantage in bench production.

CUW (13-9, 11-6 NACC) returns to the court on Saturday for a 4:15 pm matchup at Dominican University.