Keiser’s blazing start dooms men’s hoops in 93-79 loss

Box Score

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – No. 9 Keiser made 12 of their first 13 shots from the field and nine of their first ten from behind the arc as they raced out to a big lead and Cornerstone never recovered as they fell 93-79 in the second round of the NAIA National Tournament. The loss ends the season for the Golden Eagles with an overall record of 27-7.

Game Flow
Cornerstone scored the first bucket of the game on a layup from Kyle Steigenga (SO/Holland, Mich.) and held a 9-8 lead after a triple from Cory Cox (JR/Flushing, Mich.) and a pair of free-throws from Ben Lanning (SR/Grandville, Mich.) but that would be their last lead of the game. The Seahawks responded with a 23-6 run in which they made 9/10 field goals during the stretch to hold a 16-point lead just under halfway through the opening half. The margin grew to as many as 18 (36-18) but CU came right back with a 9-0 run to cut it to 36-27 with 8:30 remaining in the first half.

The closest CU got the margin was seven (42-35) after eight straight points from Steigenga, Travis Wells (SR/Eaton Rapids, Mich.) and Sam Vander Sluis (FR/Holland, Mich.) but KU closed the half up 53-39. That lead grew to 17 in the first seven minutes of the second half and CU was unable to claw back as they failed to convert shots from behind the arc.

By the Numbers
.154 – Cornerstone made just 4/26 shots from behind the arc (their worst 3-point FG% of the year)
27 – Team-high points for sophomore Kyle Steigenga
23/28 – CU shot the ball well from the FT line – highlighted by 9/9 from Cory Cox
54 – Total fouls whistled in the game
5 – Cornerstone had just five assists in the loss (had only four in the opener vs. Cincinnati Christian)

Up Next
Cornerstone concludes their 2015-16 season at 27-7 overall

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