La Porte, IN - The CCAC Conference leaders of Cardinal Stritch University (16-4, 7-0) extended their winning streak to six games by defeating the Panthers (3-16, 2-5) on Saturday night. The Wolves, ranked #9 in the NAIA DII poll, never trailed throughout the contest en route to claiming the 72-56 victory.
Derek Woelffer of the Wolves led all scorers with 19 points and went nine for 10 from the field for the game, including knocking down all eight of his field goal attempts in the first half.
The Wolves jumped out to an early 7-0 lead before freshman David Kelly (Indianapolis, IN) put back an offense rebound for the Panthers' first score. Consecutive 3-point field goals by the Wolves' Tony Smit only 40 seconds apart extended the Panther deficit to 13-4. But, the Panthers came storming back and used an 8-1 run to cut the Wolves' lead to 14-12. Panther sophomore forward Kyle Sanders' (Knox, IN) 3-point basket with 5:49 left to go in the first half cut the deficit to within two of the Wolves at 23-21, but would be the last points of the half for the Panthers. The Wolves went on to score on their final six possessions of the half to grab a 34-21 halftime lead.
The Wolves continued their scoring streak and scored on their first three possessions of the first half upping their lead to 41-21 until an Alphonse Futch (Indianapolis, IN) jumper at the 17:32 mark of the second half ended the eight minute scoring drought by the Panthers and would be the catalyst for their ensuing 11-3 scoring run. The Panthers would cut the Wolves' lead to 34-46 before a Wolves' 3-point basket ended the run with a little over 12:20 left in the game. The Panthers again would chip away at the deficit, cutting it to 13 points late in the game, but big baskets and free throws in the final minutes preserved the 72-56 victory for the Wolves.
The Panthers were led in scoring by senior guard Nick Neal (Detroit, MI) with 15 points to go along with seven assists. Freshman guard Nick Lafty (Hobart, IN) came off the bench and scored a career high, 12 points, as he knocked down three of his four 3-point shot attempts. Kelly added another nine points on four of seven shooting from the field, while Sanders' led the team in rebounds with six, and also dropped in six points as he knocked down a pair of 3-pointers. Freshman forward Anthony Jackson scored eight points, registered five blocks, and grabbed four rebounds.
The Panthers will travel to Chicago, Illinois to face CCAC Conference Division I opponent Saint Xavier University (13-4) on Tuesday, January 17, at 7:00pm CST. Saint Xavier University is currently ranked 25th in the NAIA Division I National Top 25 Coaches Poll.
