Junior guard Peter Olafeso (St. Paul, Minn.) led all players on the night with 19 points, shooting 5-12 from the floor but getting to the free throw line 12 times, hitting nine (75.0%). He also led Concordia with nine rebounds.
Head coach Kelly Boe has preached a more balanced offensive attack for his club in the 2010-11 season, and the team delivered with four players reaching double-figures in the starting lineup along with 24 points off the bench as the team is finding a solid and productive rotation.
That balanced offensive attack has also emphasized minimizing mistakes as the Golden Bears committed just nine turnovers tonight and 15 in the two-game classic. On the season, they are averaging just 10.3 turnovers per game as well. They also committed just 12 fouls on the night, an average of six per half, and were able to get the foul line 24 more times than the Urban Knights leading to a 13-point scoring margin in free points.
From the floor, Concordia fired 46.4% from the floor and knocked down nearly half of their 13 three-pointers (6-13) and held a 38-35 rebounding advantage.
On the defensive side, Boe's team defensive concept really came through this evening as Concordia kept an athletic, versatile and talented Urban Knights squad out of sync for much of the contest. AAU shot 43.3% from the floor and allowed Concordia to turn their 14 turnovers into 20 points.
And the 10-point win was key for Concordia as it was a close game throughout with 10 ties and 18 lead changes - an unprecedented continual lead swing. Academy of Art was never able to push their lead, however, as their largest lead of the game came early in the second half, a four-point margin.
Concordia was able to execute down the stretch, when senior guard Courtney Tyler (Eagan, Minn.) knocked down a three-pointer on the right side from a kick-out by junior guard Kenny Olafeso (St. Paul, Minn.) to push a four point lead to a 72-65 score with 2:44 to play. AAU didn't recover from Tyler's three, scoring just two points the rest of the evening.
Tyler finished the game with 12 points, added four rebounds and three assists. He followed-up his 20 point performance last night by shooting an effective 5-9 from the field.
K.Olafeso and sophomore forward Brent Barz (Johnston, Iowa) were Concordia's other two starters in double-figures with 10 points each. K.Olafeso added six rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals while Barz collected seven rebounds and added another block to his season ledger.
Concordia's bench was led by senior guard Andrew Kuderer (Eden Prairie, Minn.) who knocked down a pair of three's, finished with nine points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Kuderer's defense was clutch down the stretch, as he ripped Devin Williams with just over a minute to go on a dribble drive and connected with P.Olafeso for a fast-break assist moments later to give the Golden Bears their first double-digit lead (75-65) with 1:05 to play.
The Urban Knights were led by Keith Davis with 18 points off three three-pointers while Will Overton added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. AAU connected on nine three-pointers on the evening.
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