Falcons secure last minute victory against Spartans

Aurora, Ill. – Concordia Wisconsin traveled to faceoff against the Aurora Spartans, where they came away with a 101-92 victory inside Thornton Gymnasium. The Falcons used a late second half surge to move to 3-0 in the NACC conference.  

THE BASICS
Final Score: Concordia Wisconsin 101, Aurora 92
Location: Thornton Gymnasium (Aurora, Ill.)
Records: Concordia Wisconsin 3-2 (3-0 NACC); Aurora 2-2 (1-2 NACC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The anticipation was high, as the Falcons and Spartans were set to battle in an important NACC matchup early in the season. The Falcons held a one-point lead 88-87 with 2:40 left in the game after a Demetrius Pointer three-pointer to bring the Spartans within one point. CUW answered with a huge three-pointer of their own by senior Josh Hau (Slinger, Wis.) to push the lead back up to four points 91-87. Concordia Wisconsin ended up scoring on the following two possessions to give themselves a 95-87 cushion. CUW would keep their distance by sinking clutch free throws to come away with the 101-92 victory.
- An entertaining first half was back and forth with both teams looking to get a strangle hold on the lead. It appeared that the Spartans did just that, as the host built a 10-point lead with only 4:57 remaining in the opening 20 mintues, However; the Falcons dug deep and got big shots from senior Noah Gosse (Green Bay, Wis.) and freshman Jared Jurss (Sheboygan, Wis.) to help get the game tied at 47 apiece heading into the final 20 minutes of play.
- After the intense first half, the second half was much of the same. Both teams struggled to get separation from one another, as the largest lead was six points for either team up until the last two minutes of the game. Concordia Wisconsin shot 56.9 percent from the field and 50 percent from deep. The Falcons also dominated in the rebounding category, as they snatched 41 total rebounds compared to the Spartans only grabbing 29. CUW received a 30-point spark from their bench on the night, while also tallying 19 points off turnovers.
- The Falcons were led by junior Olalekan George (Milwaukee, Wis.) who netted 19 points, followed by sophomore Jordan Johnson who chipped in 15 points. Gosse had a team high three steals and Jared Jurss led the team with six helpers on the night.       

BEYOUND THE BOX SCORE
- Concordia Wisconsin has scored over 90 points for all three NACC victories.
- The Falcons have also been off to a blazing start from the field by shooting over 50 percent for the fourth straight game. CUW is averaging 52.4 percent on the season.
- This is the first time the Falcons have tallied over 100 points this season and first time since November 21st, 2017 against Loras in a 101-86 victory.

UP NEXT
- Saturday will be the next time Concordia Wisconsin will take the court, as they will travel to Edgewood with tipoff scheduled for 4:15 pm.