ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia University men's basketball team will be competing the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament for the seventh straight season, finishing strong down the stretch with a 7-4 mark in their last 11 games to secure the No. 7 seed. They will take on the defending NCAA Division II National Champions, #25 Winona State, who ended up with the No. 2 seed, snapping their four year run as NSIC Regular Season Champions. Earlier this year, CU delivered WSU their second straight loss to start league play at McCown Gymnasium, the site of tonight's meeting in Winona, Minn. at 8:00 p.m. WATCH LIVE - LIVE STATS - CU MEN'S RELEASE - NSIC MEN'S BRACKET
After the CU win over the Warriors on Dec. 4, Concordia jumped to a 4-0 start in league play while the Warriors decided to turn things around in a hurry, winning 10 straight and finishing with 15 wins in their last 18 NSIC contests to take second despite the poor start on their home floor.
But they were one-upped by Southwest Minnesota State, who has won 15 consecutive games to capture the NSIC Regular Season Championship and secure the tournament's top seed this week.
Concordia has been led by record-setting achievements down the stretch as most recently senior guard Matt Cadwell (St. Paul, Minn.) lit up Upper Iowa for a school record 46 points on senior night in a 101-91 win over the Peacocks at Gangelhoff Center on Saturday night.
On the same night, junior guard Sammy Ricks (St. Paul, Minn.) had three steals to tie the single season school record of 75 steals held by Josh Delich (1999-00) during CU's first year of NCAA Division II basketball. He ranks 8th in NCAA Division II nationally in steals per game and on the season, Ricks has recorded three or more steals in 16 games while taking five steals on five different occasions. He's the NSIC Steals Champion (NSIC-only games) and also leads the league in overall steals as well. Aside from his playmaking prowess on defense, Ricks is one of the better point guards in the league as well, ranking highly among the league leaders in assists per game and assist-turnover ratio while playing the third highest minutes per game in the conference.
While Cadwell had the single game record and Ricks produced a single season record, there are two more career achievements of note. Junior forward Craig Heiman (Marshall, Wis.) continues his ascent on the all-time scoring list, moving into fifth place all-time with 1,301 points. He is within striking distance of fourth and third place, respectively and is now just 142 points away from the scoring record held by Jeff Chamberlain (1,443, 1993-97).
Meanwhile, head coach Kelly Boe notched his 50th career win against the Peacocks and is fourth all-time in career wins at Concordia, four shy of third place Bob Barnes, the first head coach in the history of the program. Boe is 50-34 in his third season leading the Golden Bears.
With all of the records and achievements, junior Mike Cunningham (Minneapolis, Minn.) has been playing his best basketball of his career as well. The oversized and over-athletic point guard has scored in double-figures in 14 of the last 15 games including eight 15+ point performances and five with at least 19 points. He's third in the league in steals despite playing along side the explosive Ricks and is fourth in the league in assists.
While the positivity is flowing from the Concordia club house, they still face a team that has won two of the last three NCAA Division II National Championships, reaching the National Championship all three years. The Warriors' reign as NSIC Regular Season Champs may be over, but the Warriors are still looking to keep their NSIC Tournament Championship streak in tact. They have won the last three, looking for a fourth.
Earlier in the year, when Concordia won at Winona State, it was the first time in the series history that Concordia defeated the Warriors in the 32 meeting. The fact that it was on Winona State's home court against the defending D-II champs who were ranked #16 in the nation made it even more impressive.
Concordia did their homework in preparing for the earlier win, outrebounding Winona State 35-24 in the game and pounding the Warriors in the paint to the tune of a 56-26 advantage down low. The main source of pain for Warrior fans was Heiman, who bruised his way to 25 points on 10-17 shooting to go with eight rebounds. He didn't make a single three-pointer, something that has only happened just that one time this season. In fact, CU only dropped a pair of three's in the game while allowing Winona to plug 11 on their side of the court. But the continued pounding CU leveled on the Mike Leaf-led Warriors took a toll down the stretch.
It was a game that Winona State controlled early, leading by as many as 10 in the first half. But Concordia came back strong and made it a close battle featuring seven ties and 13 lead changes, Concordia holding their largest lead of six down the stretch in the second half.
In Concordia's history in the NSIC Tournament, they have won once on the road, a 93-84 win at Wayne State in the 2004-05 tournament. That year, they fell at tournament host Winona State in the semifinals in a close 76-70 contest. Concordia is 2-4 all-time the first round of the NSIC Tournament, going 0-3 against Northern State (all on the road) and 2-1 against Wayne State. Concordia is 0-2 against Winona State in the tournament, losing both games to the Warriors in Winona in the semifinals.
