Thursday, March 2, 2017

LACEY, Wash. – Playing for the first time in tournament play in front of its home crowd, No. 4 seeded Saint Martin’s rode a record night by senior center Fred Jorg to a 78-73 victory over No. 5 seeded Concordia in the quarterfinals of the GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships at Marcus Pavilion.

Jorg put together a monster double-double of 23 points and a GNAC Championships single game record 15 rebounds. The German product bettered the previous record of 13 set by Northwest Nazarene’s Brian Barkdoll in 2011 and equaled by Jarrell Clayton of Montana State Billings in 2013.

The performance led an impressive overall performance by both teams. Saint Martin’s finished shooting 49.2 percent from the field and shot 60.7 percent in the opening half. Concordia finished the night shooting 50 percent from the field.

Concordia senior forward Drew Martin finished two short of the championships’ single game scoring record with 32 points, connecting on 10 of 18 from the field and 12 of 15 from the free throw line. Latrell Wilson added 20 points.

With the win, The Saints (17-12 overall) earn the right to face No. 1 seed Western Washington in the semifinals tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. Concordia, playing in its first GNAC Basketball Championships, finished the season at 14-14.

The home fans were treated to high-charged first half. Neither team led by more than three points over the first 11 minutes of the stanza. Concordia held the 21-20 advantage with 9:27 to go before the Saints charged out to a 9-2 run over the next three minutes, culminating on Brandon Kenilvort’s three-pointer at the 6:16 mark that made it a 29-24 Saints lead.

The Cavaliers closed it back to within three points on Martin’s lay-in with just under six minutes left, but a Jorg lay-in on the next possession was the catalyst behind another 9-2 run with the Saints going up 37-28 on another Jorg lay-in with 2:56 to go. Concordia managed to close with four with just under two minutes left, but the Saints scored 10 points in that span to take the 43-35 halftime lead.

The Saints twice tried to to bury Concordia under sizable leads, but both times the Cavaliers bounced back to stay in the game. Saint Martin’s held the 58-50 lead on a pair of Cole Preston free throws at the 11:30 mark, only to watch Martin dunk the Cavs back to within four, 58-54. A three-pointer from Kenilvort opened up an 11-point advantage for the Saints with 5:44 left, but the Cavaliers once again stayed alive as Martin’s two free throws made it a 71-69 lead with 2:18 left.

Saint Martin’s played solid defense down the stretch to keep the Cavaliers from challenging for the lead. With Concordia forced to foul for possessions, senior guard Tyler Copp came through to make 4 of 4 from the free throw line in the final minute to secure the win.