(Feb. 27, 2008 - Grand Rapids, Mich.) -- The Concordia men's basketball team lead for much of the first half and hung close until midway through the second stanza, but Cornerstone proved to be a tough first-round draw as the Golden Eagles would eventually pull away for a 71-56 win in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference playoffs.

 

Concordia jumped out to an early 7-2 lead as Anthony Bates (Sr. - Detroit, Mich.) would knock down a three and sink two free throws early. Bates would finish his career with 14 points in the game.

 

After Cornerstone tied the game at 7-7, the Cards would put together run as three players would score during a 9-2 run that gave Concordia it's largest lead at seven points with 11:11 remaining in the first half. Marquis Turley (Fr. - Grand Rapids, Mich.) scored four points while Scott Spencer (Jr. - Armada, Mich.) added a three-pointer and Fernando Cardenas (Jr. - Paris, France) a lay-in during the run.

 

Turley would finish the game as the Cardinals leading scorer with 18 points as well as hauling in six rebounds, tied with Kyle Thoms (Sr. - Ft. Wayne, Ind.) for the team lead in boards.

 

The Golden Eagles would regain the lead as they scored the half's final seven points to head to the locker room with a 28-24 lead.

 

The Cardinals would pull within a bucket as Turley sank a shot with 10:20 remaining to make the score 36-34 in Cornerstone's favor. Unfortunately, that would be the closes the Cards would get as Cornerstone responded immediately to Turley's conversion with a seven-point run over a 1:26 period to give themselves a 43-34 lead.

 

Two Spencer free throws and a Bates basket pulled Concordia within five at 48-43 with 4:49, but again Cornerstone answered. Caleb Simons made two at the charity stripe and Jonathan Hoshor nailed a triple attempt and within a 34 second span the game was a 10-point affair as the Golden Eagles lead 53-43 with 4:15 remaining.

 

The Cards tried to come back in the final three minutes of the game by stopping the clock and sending Cornerstone to the free throw line. The Golden Eagles simply used the freebies as a chance to extend their lead as they nailed 13 of 14 attempts in the waning minutes of play.

 

When the final horn sounded, Cornerstone advanced to the second round with a 71-56 win. Concordia (11-20) ends a two-season streak of advancing to the second round of the playoffs.

 

In their final games in a Concordia uniform, Bates had 14 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block; while Thoms had five points, six rebounds, an assist and a steal.