Falcons advance to NACC Tournament championship game

LISLE, Ill. – It didn't matter who scored or defended for Concordia University Wisconsin on Tuesday night, because all that mattered was the scoreboard showed it they advanced to the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament championship game. The Falcons overcame a five-point deficit midway through the second half and drained six-straight free throws in the final 17 seconds during a 76-70 victory at Benedictine University.

CUW (third seed) will travel to No. 1-seeded Aurora University on Saturday for a 2 pm matchup and the right to advance to the NCAA Tournament via the league's automatic berth.

The Falcons have been up and down this season at the free throw line, but in the most important game to date, they drained 21-of-22 free throws (95.5 percent), which was the third-best percentage in program history. With the game on the line; Keith Kahlfeldt, Bradley Prinsen and Eric Kittel each calmly drained a pair of free throws to seal the victory.

CUW controlled the opening half for all but 18 seconds and nearly the entire second half. The Eagles went ahead midway through the second half and led by five points with 8:05 to play in the game. The Falcons answered with a barrage of points from Kittel and Mark Scholz, followed by a layup from Malcolm Bowers to regain the lead for good with 2:33 left on the clock.

Each team went cold from the field for the next two-plus minutes, until BU went into desperation mode and started fouling CUW. Over the last 2:33 of the game, the Eagles were limited to 0-of-5 from the field.

Kittel (sophomore, Brillion, Wis.) led the Falcons with 20 points, which included four 3-pointers and four assists. It was his third 20-point game in the last four contests. Scholz (senior, Greenfield, Wis.) sparked the bench with 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting and 6-of-6 at the free throw line. He also grabbed four rebounds (two offensive).

Kahlfeldt (junior, New Berlin, Wis.) tallied 12 points in 16 minutes of action, while Prinsen (junior, Oostburg, Wis.) recorded 11 points, including 6-of-6 at the charity stripe, to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Bowers (junior, Germantown, Wis.) added six points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The Falcons turned the ball over just nine times and have committed single digit mistakes in six of the last seven games, which has resulted in six victories. They also shot 49.0 percent (24-of-49) and 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from outside the 3-point arc.

Tim McGinty paced the Eagles with 23 points (11-of-13 free throws) and 12 rebounds. Michael Blaszczyk and Tahron Harvey scored 12 and 11 points, respectively. BU also shot well at the free throw line, making 24-of-27 attempts (88.9 percent).

The Falcons jumped all over the Eagles (18-9) in the first three minutes and held a 14-4 lead. During the quick scoring spree Kittel and Prinsen made a long ball, while junior Brett Boettcher (New Holstein, Wis.) drained triples on consecutive possessions. The advantage didn't last long, as BU answered with a 12-0 run to take a 16-14 lead with 12:38 remaining in the first half.

CUW (18-8) retook the lead and pushed it to eight points before eventually owning a 36-31 difference at halftime. Entering the locker rooms, Scholz had scored eight points and both teams were a combined 21-of-24 at the free throw line.

The Falcons slowly inched their lead to nine points with 14:36 left in the game, but the Eagles again answered and went on a 20-6 scoring run to hold its largest advantage of the game, 59-54, with 8:05 remaining on the clock.

CUW's top scoring threat took over in the second half and scored 14 of his team-high 20 points. More so, this is the first time the Falcons have advanced to the NACC Tournament title game, while Aurora has played in the championship contest five times, having won the trophy three times (2010, 2009, 2007).