Eagles Clinch Share of Second-Straight GSAC Title, 91-81

Box Score 

(2/28/08 - Men's Basketball) IRVINE - The NAIA's #6-ranked Concordia wrapped up at least a share of a second-straight Golden State Athletic Conference regular season crown by holding off visiting Westmont, 91-81, Thursday evening in the CU Arena.

Concordia entered the game with a one game lead on California Baptist and Azusa Pacific with two games to play. The two teams meet in Azusa on Friday evening, then the Eagles host the Lancers in the regular season finale on Monday.

"This league was much more difficult this year and deeper than I thought it would be," said head coach Ken Ammann, whose team won't have to leave its home floor until leaving for the NAIA Tournament in just over two weeks. "There were some teams that played so well throughout the year. There's going to be a 9th place team in this league that doesn't make our conference tournament that could potentially go back to the national tournament and win games. It's just a very strong league and to go back-to-back, I couldn't be more proud of our guys for getting to the position we're in."

In trademark Concordia fashion, the Eagles forced 26 turnovers that were converted into just over a third of their 91 points. To go along with the 31 points off turnovers, the Eagles also had 16 fast break points to take the pressure off a half-court offense that had its hands full with a strong defensive team.

"Westmont is a great team and they play us as hard or harder than anybody else. They are a tough, hard-nosed team just like their coach. Anyone that wasn't here won't have an idea of how hard this game was for us."

Westmont made a conscious effort to stop leading scorer Ryan Read in the opening stages of the game, relying on a box-and-one defense to isolate a defender strictly on Read while playing a zone with the other four. However, the Eagles were prepared as they went inside early as Joe Roberson had six early points while setting up Josh Kramer for a three-pointer in the corner.

"They've mixed up their defenses all year long and we expected them to do that. They are difficult to play against and they present some tough matchups. They always make things difficult for you on both ends."

Da Silva also got his offensive game going, tallying 12 of his team-leading 21 points in the first half. As the game wore on, however, Read found his way into the offense and still maanged to hit 7-of-10 shots for 18 points, including a pair of three-pointers to go along with three steals.

After trailing through the opening stages of the game, the Eagles tied things up at 22-22 after a steal by Roberson led to a lay-up for Read. A 13-4 run late in the half stretched the lead to 12 before the Warriors scored the final seven points of the half to trail by five at the break.

The Concordia advantage hovered around five for the early stages of the second half before Tyler Gottstein converted a blocked shot by Da Silva for a lay-up, then fed Read for a transition bucket after another turnover. A jumper by Worthy completed the six-point spurt and pushed the lead to 65-54 with 12:56 to play.

Fouls took their toll on both teams in the second half as the Warriors stayed in the game by shooting a respectable 13-of-28 from the field (.464) and knocked down 12-of-18 free throws.

With the Eagles still up 11 midway through the half, Westmont used a 7-0 spurt to trim the lead to four after a three-point play by Dan Rasp. However, the Eagles responded quickly with a put-back by Da Silva, then Gottstein swiped another steal before hitting a free throw. Another steal, this time by Adam Greenaway, put Roberson at the line for two shots and a 9-point lead.

The Warriors got to within five on three occasions late, including at the 1:43 mark after a free throw by Rasp, but Roberson answered with two more from the charity stripe before Read inserted the final dagger with a three-pointer with 55 seconds left.

Roberson hit 5-of-6 from the field and 6-of-7 at the line to finish with 16 points to go along with 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals while Worthy tossed in 14 points and 4 assists. Josh Ware shared game-high honors with 21 points to lead Westmont (13-13, 7-11 GSAC) while Rasp chipped in with 17 points and 6 rebounds.

Concordia (24-4, 15-4) hosts the 13th-ranked Lancers on Monday, March 3 with Senior Night festivities preceding tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The Eagles will then host a first round GSAC Tournament game on Thursday, March 6 against an opponent to be determined, also set for 7:30 p.m.