Jan. 04– Concordia University (8-5, 2-2 NSIC) pulled the deficit to four points twice in the second half but couldn't get any closer as #24 Northern State (13-1, 4-1 NSIC) defeated the Golden Bears 71-64 at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, S.D.

Concordia trailed for much of the first half until a three-pointer by freshman Matt Hackl (Seymour, Wis.) gave the Golden Bears their first lead, 17-16, at the 6:35 mark.

Hackl's three-pointer was one of nine hit by the Golden Bears, many of the long range buckets helped spark runs that fell short. Concordia shot 47.4% (9-19) from behind the arc.

Junior guard Matt Cadwell (St. Paul, Minn.) scored five points in the final :43 to give the Golden Bears a 28-24 halftime lead. He finished the game with 13 points on 4-5 shooting.

That lead evaporated quickly as the Wolves come out and scored the first seven points in the first 1:59 of the second half to reclaim the lead 31-28.

The Golden Bears trailed by as much as 11, 49-38, with 12:23 to play but back-to-back three-pointers by James Metcalf (Sr., G, Killeen, Texas) and Craig Heiman (So., F, Marshall, Wis.) cut the gap to five.

Metcalf scored 12, shooting 4-8 from the floor and 3-5 from long range while Heiman led the Golden Bears with 17 points and hit four three-pointers in 11 attempts. He pulled down a team-high seven rebounds as well.

After a lay-up by Dan DeWitt, Heiman delivered another three-pointer to etch the deficit to four, 51-47 with 9:03 remaining.

But the Wolves worked the lead back to nine, 57-48, just a few minutes later.

But Heiman drilled another three-pointer that followed a lay-up by senior center Chuol Chany (Des Moines, Iowa) to bring the game back within four once again, 57-53 with 5:27 to play. Chany finished with 10 points and four rebounds off the bench.

Kevin Ratzsch had the answer for the Wolves, connecting on a three-pointer to once again snap Concordia's mini-run. Ratzsch finished with a game-high 19 points to lead the Wolves.

Concordia didn't get closer than six the rest of the way as the home team converted their free throws, hitting 83.3% (20-24) as a team.

The Golden Bears, meanwhile, struggled at the line, hitting just 61.1% (11-18).

Concordia looks to get back in the win column tomorrow evening when they travel north to take on the University of Mary at 8 p.m. in Bismarck, N.D. CU has lost three of their last four games.

BOX SCORE - Northern State 71, CU 64