Falcons Fly Past Eagles on Family Day

MEQUON, Wis. – On Saturday, the Falcons improved to 5-1 at home, 7-10 on the year, and 7-5 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play after taking down the Eagles of Edgewood 75-56. 

Junior Adam Bruins (Oak Creek) made quick work in his first start of the season, scoring five of the Falcon's first nine points, as he drilled a triple from the top of the key and finished a put-back layup.  

Later in the half, senior Gabe Pruss (North Fon du Lac, Wis.) completed the old-fashioned three-point play to put the Falcons up 14-8 at nearly the halfway point of the half.  

Then, possessions later, freshman Mekhi Sutton (San Diego, Calif.) forced the hand of Edgewood's to call a timeout, as he drove and finished the scoop and score to extend the Falcon's lead to 16-8. 

CUW pushed its lead to double-digits out of the timeout as senior Zech Hans (Hartland, Wis.) found sophomore Jack Fritz (Columbus, Wis.) down low to enjoy the 18-8 lead. 

But the Eagles, seeking revenge after dropping the first matchup against the Falcons on Dec. 13th, cut CUW's lead to 20-10 with around six minutes left in the half. 

The rest of the half would be a back-and-forth contest; seemingly, as one team took the lead, the other would get it back. 

Freshman Isaac Seidel (Wausau, Wis.) came off the bench and immediately entered the stat book as he and Gabe Pruss connected on the pick and roll, culminating with Siedel feeding Pruss a pocket pass for a layup. 

The closing seconds of the first saw senior Samuel Meerstein (Green Bay, Wis.) sink a triple off the dribble to secure the 30-29 lead heading into the half. 

But, out of the break, it was all CUW, as they went on a 25-4 run to secure the comfortable 58-35 lead.  

The run started with five straight points from Samuel Meertstein, followed by a layup from Jonah Jurss on a pass from Gabe Pruss. 

Samuel Meerstein also hit another three-pointer, while senior Freeman Jackson drove to the basket for easy two points. 

Later in the run, Gabe Pruss drained a three with the shot clock winding down. Jack Fritz made a strong finish on a baseline bounce pass from Jonah Jurss in the next possession. 

Ultimately, the run was capped off by a Freeman Jackson triple and a scoop and score from Mekhi Sutton, as the Falcons found themselves up 23 points with 9:45 left in the game.

Later, with 3:35 remaining, Mekhi Sutton kept up his exception play, completing the three-point play to give the Falcons the 68-46 lead. 

The Falcons would sustain their 20+ point until the final moments of the game as senior Tevin Dillon (Prattville, Ala.) finished with a strong right-hand layup, while freshman Jacob Christjohn (Milwaukee, Wis.) found fellow freshman Owen Smith (Wauwatosa, Wis.) on a tight out of bounds pass.

In total, the Falcons outscored the Eagles 45-27 in the second half, forcing 17 Edgewood turnovers and keeping the Eagles to just a 34.5 percent field goal percentage. "Our defense was outstanding tonight in the way the team was able to talk through situations at halftime then execute in the 2nd half," said head coach Shawn Cassidy regarding his team's second-half defense. 

On the offensive side of the ball, the Falcons outscored Edgewood 48-22 in the paint.  

Individually, four Falcons reached double figures, as Samuel Meerstein led the way with 15 points on six-of-nine shooting, while Gabe Pruss notched another double-double, recording 11 points and 11 rebounds. Freeman Jackson also added 13 points to the Falcon's total. 

Off the bench, Mekhi Sutton went a perfect five-of-five from the field for a career-high 12 points and six rebounds. Jonah Jurss also brought a spark off the bench for the Falcons, scoring four points while totaling four steals and two rebounds. 

 "Jonah Jurss and Mekhi Sutton gave us a huge lift on both ends of the floor," commented Shawn Cassidy on Sutton's and Jurss's performance off the bench. 

CUW looks to continue its strong home performance as it takes on conference opponent Concordia Chicago on Jan. 26th at the 71st annual Concordia Invitational Tournament.