News Release

MOORHEAD, Minn. — Note to future Cobber opponents: the second half is not the time to relax and assume that the game is going to go to the wire. One more thing, try not to get caught up in the fact that you held league-leading scorer Keith Eckhoff (Jr., Alexandria, Minn.) quiet for a full half. Led by Eckhoff's 17 points in the second half, Concordia outscored St. John's 35-21 in the final 20 minutes and beat the Johnnies 67-51.

The win is the third straight for Concordia and second in consecutive days. The Cobbers also won for the sixth straight time at home. The victory ups Concordia's MIAC record to 7-5 - securely in the middle of the playoff hunt. The Cobbers are now 9-8 overall, which marks the first time all season that they have been above the .500 mark. St. John's falls for the fifth straight time. They are now 1-6 since the New Year started. The Johnnies fall to 3-8 in the MIAC and 5-11 overall.

Eckhoff was held to only eight points in the first half as Concordia struggled to contend with the physical pressure of the St. John's defense. The Cobbers had to come up with a shot in the final seconds of the period to take a two-point lead into the break.

The second half was all Concordia. The Cobbers held St. John's to only 21 points, while Eckhoff almost matched their offensive production by scoring 17 points in the final 20 minutes. The Johnnies only made seven field goals in the second half and were a paltry 7-of-18 from the floor (38.9%). Meanwhile, the Cobber offense began to wear down the St. John's defense and the Cobbers were able to get quality chances for their key players.

Concordia shot 52.2% (12-of-23) in the second period and made 9-of-11 free throws.
The critical run for Concordia came at the 16:51 mark when they went on a 13-2 run that lasted for a full eight minutes. Holding onto a 14-point lead with 8:28 to play, Concordia refused to let the Johnnies cut the deficit to single digits and pulled away for the 17-point win.

Eckhoff's 25 points marks the eight time in the last ten games that he has led the team in scoring. He has also scored at least 24 points in three of the past four games. During that stretch he is averaging 25.0 points per game. The Big Easy also added three rebounds and did not turn the ball over once.

Soren Nelson (Sr., Twin Valley, Minn.) carried the bulk of the scoring in the first half for Concordia. He had a team-high, nine points at the break and finished with 13. Ryan Templeton (Jr., Minot, N.D.), continuing to recover from strep throat, added 10 points and four rebounds. Mark Dixon (Jr., St. Paul, Minn.) made his return to the lineup after missing last game with a stomach virus. He played 11 minutes and collected two ponts.

Paul Henrichs was the only St. John's player to score over six points in the game. Henrichs went 7-of-11 from the floor and had 17 points. He also chipped in a game-high six rebounds.

Concordia held a decided edge in two statistical categories. The Cobbers turned 18 Johnnie turnovers into 21 points, while St. John's could only muster two points from the 13 Concordia miscues. After getting beat for numerous points in the paint in the first half, the Cobbers turned the tide in the second frame and finished the game with a 30-18 advantage in points scored from around the basket.

Concordia will continue to sprint through their four-game, seven-day homestand when they host Gustavus on Wednesday, January 26 at 7:30pm. The game 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
St. John's University vs Concordia College
1/24/05 7:30 at Moorhead, MN/Memorial Auditorium
At Moorhead, MN/Memorial Auditorium
CONCORDIA COLLEGE 67, ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY 51
ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY (3-8 MIAC/5-11)
Paul Henrichs 7-11 3-3 17; Tim Veurink 2-4 0-0 6; Matt Ohme 2-9 1-2 6; Craig
Schafer 2-4 1-2 5; Ryan Hinman 2-2 0-0 4; Jesse Ellens 2-2 0-0 4; Scot
Schafer 2-3 0-0 4; Nicholas Pariseau 1-4 1-2 3; Jon Kaus 0-4 2-2 2; Brent
Baune 0-1 0-0 0; Zach Reif 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-45 8-11 51.
CONCORDIA COLLEGE (7-5 MIAC/8-8)
Keith Eckhoff 9-16 6-6 25; Soren Nelson 6-9 0-0 13; Ryan Templeton 4-6 1-1
10; Jason Miller 4-7 0-0 8; Eric Meichsner 1-2 2-3 4; Luke Linz 1-4 1-2 3;
E.J. Adams 0-3 2-2 2; Mark Dixon 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 26-50 12-14 67.
St. John's University.........   30   21  -   51
Concordia College.............   32   35  -   67
3-point goals-St. John's University 3-15 (Tim Veurink 2-3; Matt Ohme 1-6;
Nicholas Pariseau 0-1; Jon Kaus 0-2; Brent Baune 0-1; Zach Reif 0-1; Paul
Henrichs 0-1), Concordia College 3-11 (Soren Nelson 1-3; Ryan Templeton 1-1;
Keith Eckhoff 1-4; Mark Dixon 0-2; Eric Meichsner 0-1). Fouled out--St.
John's University-None, Concordia College-None. Rebounds-St. John's
University 24 (Paul Henrichs 6), Concordia College 20 (Luke Linz 5).
Assists-St. John's University 15 (Matt Ohme 5), Concordia College 15 (Eric
Meichsner 3; Luke Linz 3). Total fouls-St. John's University 16, Concordia
College 13.