Kittel hits jumper with 0.8 seconds to play, Falcons stun Sabres

MEQUON, Wis. – It wasn't the first time in Eric Kittel's career he had the ball in his hands with the game on the line and Wednesday he provided another heroic effort with a step-back, 17-foot jumper with 0.8 seconds to play. Concordia University Wisconsin stunned Marian University with the 62-60 victory inside the R. John Buuck Field House.

The season finale didn't mean much for the Falcons, other than gaining momentum, because they had already clinched the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament. However, three seniors wanted a night to remember and they got just that. CUW will host sixth-seeded MSOE on Saturday at 2 pm.

The Sabres had tied the game at 51-51, but it was short lived after Kittel drained a triple 33 seconds later to put the Falcons in front for good. Even with the visitors hitting 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions during the two-minute mark, CUW did just enough to stay in front until Kittel worked his magic.

Neither team was able to take much momentum, as the largest lead was seven points by the Falcons with 2:32 before halftime. Even that wasn't enough because the Sabres put together a 7-0 scoring run before the intermission to knot the scoreboard at 22-22.

In all, there were seven scoring ties and six lead changes over the final 20 minutes of play. The Sabres tied the game at 60-60 following a pair of free throws and then proceeded to call timeout with 22 seconds to play. It was obvious on the ensuing inbounds pass the Falcons had the ball in the hands of their go-to player. Kittel dribbled off valuable seconds before using a crossover dribble at the top of the key and then stepping back for the game-winner, which bounds off the front of the rim and softly touched the backboard before erupting the crowd.

Kittel (sophomore, Brillion, Wis.) led all players with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including four 3-pointers. He tallied 13 of his points in the second half and finished with two steals. Junior Bradley Prinsen (Oostburg, Wis.) recorded 12 points – 10 in the second half – to go along with four rebounds and two assists. Junior Malcolm Bowers (Germantown, Wis.) had nine points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists off the bench.

Junior Brett Boettcher (New Holstein, Wis.) will graduate in May, despite having a year of eligibility remaining, and scored seven points, grabbed nine rebounds and stole three passes. Seniors Mark Scholz (Greenfield, Wis.) and Dustin Thumann (Marshfield, Wis.) each started and combined for six points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Josh Creed and Mike Keller paced the Sabres (11-14, 10-10 NACC) with 12 points each, while Montrell Hobbs scored 11 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked two shots. Alex Stecker added 10 points, six assists and two steals.

CUW (16-9, 14-6 NACC) ends the regular season with a three-game winning streak and has won 12-of-15 games over the last two months.