Excellent three-point shooting keyed the win as Concordia shot 15-28 from behind the arc. Andre Smith's three gave Concordia the lead for good at 44-43 after Eric Allen's 70-foot buzzer beater had given the hosts a brief lead at the half. Kas Wleklinski followed Smith's trey with two of his own, and the Cougars built their lead to 73-59 before the Vikings made a late charge to come within 76-70 with 1:29 left. However, Bryan Ganek drilled a three from the right corner with 57 seconds left to put in the dagger, and four free throws by David Mikrut would close out the victory.
Freshman guard Ryan Young led the Cougars with 17 points, following up his 20-point effort in Saturday's win over Blackburn. Justin Gray added 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds, and Andre Smith, Bobby Smith (no relation) and Lafeyette Bell all chipped in with 10 points. Jason Gordon led North Park with 26 points.
Concordia will look to add to their winning streak on Nov. 26-27 when they play in the Bill Merris Classic at Illinois College in Jacksonville. The Cougars will play the hosts on Saturday night, followed by either Dominican University or MacMurray College on Sunday.
Newspaper Box Score Concordia (IL) University vs North Park University 11/22/05 7:30p at Chicago, IL - North Park Gymnasium At Chicago, IL - North Park Gymnasium CONCORDIA (IL) UNIVERSITY 83, NORTH PARK UNIVERSITY 73 CONCORDIA (IL) UNIVERSITY (3-0) YOUNG, Ryan 5-11 3-4 17; GRAY, Justin 5-12 1-1 12; BELL, Lafeyette 4-6 0-0 10; SMITH, Andre 3-4 2-2 10; SMITH, Bobby 4-12 2-3 10; MIKRUT, David 1-5 4-4 7; WLEKLINSKI, Kas 2-4 0-0 6; LORENZEN, Robert 2-5 0-1 6; GANEK, Bryan 2-4 0-1 5; WARD, Ryan 0-0 0-0 0; PICKLE, Bobby 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 28-66 12-16 83. NORTH PARK UNIVERSITY (0-2) GORDON, JASON 8-16 6-8 26; MATHISEN, BRETT 4-7 6-9 14; WHITAKER, ED 4-7 4-4 14; ALLEN, ERIC 2-11 4-7 9; SARGENT, JEREMIAH 3-5 1-1 7; VENTURA, MIKE 0-3 2-2 2; BURNETT, DEVIN 0-2 1-2 1; ALEXANDER, JAY 0-1 0-0 0; BUCKERT, KEVIN 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-52 24-33 73. Concordia (IL) University..... 37 46 - 83 North Park University......... 39 34 - 73 3-point goals-Concordia (IL) University 15-28 (YOUNG, Ryan 4-8; LORENZEN, Robert 2-4; SMITH, Andre 2-2; BELL, Lafeyette 2-3; WLEKLINSKI, Kas 2-4; GRAY, Justin 1-1; GANEK, Bryan 1-1; MIKRUT, David 1-5), North Park University 7-16 (GORDON, JASON 4-5; WHITAKER, ED 2-4; ALLEN, ERIC 1-6; VENTURA, MIKE 0-1). Fouled out--Concordia (IL) University-SMITH, Andre, North Park University-None. Rebounds-Concordia (IL) University 47 (GRAY, Justin 10), North Park University 35 (GORDON, JASON 13). Assists-Concordia (IL) University 21 (SMITH, Andre 4; MIKRUT, David 4; LORENZEN, Robert 4), North Park University 8 (GORDON, JASON 3). Total fouls-Concordia (IL) University 22, North Park University 17. A-500