News Release

WINONA, Minn. — Concordia took advantage of the only other team in the MIAC that is younger than they are, by pressing St. Mary's from the moment they stepped in the gym and came away with a 76-68 victory. The Cobbers forced the Cardinals into 24 turnovers to secure their first conference win of the season.

A trio of Cobbers factored in the scoring recap. Mark Dixon was a force all over the court as he came away with 16 points, a game-high eight rebounds and five assists.

Keith Eckhoff had a team-high 20 points. It is the fourth time in six games this season that he has led Concordia in scoring. He went 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from behind the arc. He is now shooting 51.4% from 3-point range this season. Soren Nelson was the only other Cobber player in double figures. Despite going 3-of-11 from the field, he finished with 10 points and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

St. Mary's forward Eric Lear led all players in scoring, as he posted 21 points. Dan Cloak was the only other cardinal player to post more than eight points. He finished the game with 11 points.

For the game, Concordia shot 51.1% (23-of-45) from the floor and 50.0% (4-of-8) from 3-point range. The biggest statistical advantage the Cobbers held over the Cardinals was in free throw shooting. Concordia was 26-of-34 (76.5%) from the charity stripe, while St. Mary's shot only 16 free throws and finished with a 75.0 shooting percentage (12-of-16).

Concordia never trailed in the game, as they bolted to a 9-2 lead to start the game. St. Mary's was able to force a pair of ties with under nine minutes to play in the first half. The Cardinals tied the game at 14-14 by using a 10-2 run of their own. The game was also tied at 17-17 and then again at 19-19 before the Cobbers closed the half by outscoring the Cardinals 20-14. Using a full-court press for most of the half, Concordia forced St. Mary's into 14 first half turnovers.

In the second half, the Cobbers used a 10-4 run in the first seven minutes of play to grab a 12-point lead at 49-37. The Cobbers built the lead to as many as 15 points before the Cardinals cut the deficit to five at 71-66 with 3:05 left to play. Concordia proceeded to put the clamps on the St. Mary's defense for the final three minutes and came away with the eight-point victory.

Concordia will stay on the road and travel to Northfield where they will play St. Olaf on Saturday, December 11 at 3:00pm. They will finish the 2004 potion of their season when they play at UM-Morris on Tuesday, December 14 at 7:00pm. Both games can be heard live on 1280AM "The Fan" radio in the Fargo-Moorhead area and via the internet at www.gocobbers.com.

Newspaper Box Score
Concordia vs Saint Mary's
12/9/04 7:30 at SMU Gym, Winona, Minn.
At SMU Gym, Winona, Minn.
CONCORDIA 76, SAINT MARY'S 68
CONCORDIA (1-2 MIAC, 2-4)
Keith Eckhoff 5-9 7-10 20; Mark Dixon 5-9 6-8 16; Soren Nelson 3-11 4-4 10;
Jason Miller 2-6 5-6 9; Eric Meichsner 3-4 1-2 8; Luke Linz 3-3 0-0 6; Ryan
Templeton 1-2 0-0 2; E.J. Adams 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-45 26-34 76.
SAINT MARY'S (0-3 MIAC, 0-6)
Eric Lear 6-14 6-8 21; Dan Kloak 4-9 3-3 11; Fiore Buccieri 2-5 2-2 8;
Brensley Haywood 3-5 0-0 8; David Shaw 3-4 1-2 7; Michael Rohr 2-4 0-0 5;
Dan Lewis 2-2 0-0 4; Jason Washington 1-2 0-0 2; Ryan Walker 1-2 0-0 2; Dan
Cormier 0-2 0-0 0; Mike O'Hara 0-2 0-1 0. Totals 24-51 12-16 68.
Concordia.....................   39   37  -   76
Saint Mary's..................   33   35  -   68
3-point goals-Concordia 4-8 (Keith Eckhoff 3-4; Eric Meichsner 1-1;
Soren Nelson 0-2; Mark Dixon 0-1), Saint Mary's 8-20 (Eric Lear 3-4;
Brensley Haywood 2-3; Fiore Buccieri 2-4; Michael Rohr 1-1; Jason Washington
0-1; Dan Cormier 0-2; Mike O'Hara 0-1; Dan Kloak 0-4). Fouled
out--Concordia-None, Saint Mary's-David Shaw. Rebounds-Concordia
31 (Mark Dixon 8), Saint Mary's 23 (David Shaw 5). Assists-Concordia
10 (Mark Dixon 5), Saint Mary's 16 (Dan Kloak 5). Total
fouls-Concordia 15, Saint Mary's 25.