Jordan Johnson piled up 32 points and 14 rebounds, one of a trio of huge individual performances for visiting Concordia University Wisconsin that was too much for the Lakeland University men's basketball team to overcome in a 101-87 loss Friday at home at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Falcons shot 53.2% from the field and had a huge advantage in the paint to win the 127th meeting all-time between the schools and the first Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference North Division game for both this season. Five players scoring in double figures weren't enough for Lakeland, which dropped to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the NACC North.

In a game matching two typically high-powered offenses, the Muskies were more than respectable. Lakeland shot 45.8% from the floor (33 of 72) and made 12 of 31 from three-point range (38.7%), but the defending NACC Tournament champion Falcons were even better from the field and particularly inside, boasting a big 56-34 edge in points in the paint.

The Muskies played from behind almost the entire game, but after being within striking distance most of the first 20 minutes started to lose contact just before halftime and at the start of the second half. After a layup by Earl Lewis (Jr.-Madison, Wis.) made it a one-point game, Concordia scored the final six points of the half for a 48-41 lead as Lakeland went scoreless the final 2 minutes, 43 seconds of the half.

The Falcons took control early in the second half, with a 14-4 run capped by a Johnson layup making it 64-50 with 14:37 to play. Johnson, Jared Jurss and Joey Zietlow scored all 14 points in the run, and all three were trouble the whole night. In addition to Johnson's dominant performance, Zietlow also scored 25 points, making 9 of 15 from the field, while Jurss scored 14 and also totaled 12 assists.

CUW's lead ballooned to as much as 17 at 74-57 with 10:52 left in the game, and Lakeland never was able to make a serious dent the rest of the way. The Muskies did get as close as eight at 89-81 when Lewis hit a three with 3:51 left, but Johnson scored the next two times down and Lakeland missed its final four three-point attempts, making it difficult to do anything more than trade baskets the rest of the way.

Cam Jaeger (Fr.-Oostburg, Wis.) scored a collegiate-best 19 points and also led Lakeland with seven rebounds. Aiden Polzin (Fr.-Clintonville, Wis.) scored 14 points and drilled four three-pointers and Lewis added 12 points off the bench. Greg Barber (Sr.-Miami, Fla.) also scored 11 points and Trenton Nickel (Sr.-Kiel, Wis.) added 10 points.

Lakeland trailed for nearly 35 minutes of the game and led only twice briefly in the first half, the last time after a layup by Matt Sechman (Jr.-Chicago, Ill.) made it 16-14 with 12:14 left in the half. The Muskies also came back from six points down to tie the game at 37-37 late in the half on a Tylan Huff (So.-Milwaukee, Wis.) three-pointer before the Falcons edged ahead just before halftime.

Concordia made 41 of 77 shots and also hit 10 of 21 from three-point range. The Falcons also outrebounded Lakeland 46-33 and now hold a 67-60 lead in the all-time series.

The two teams will meet again Saturday night for a 5 p.m. tip at the Woltzen Gymnasium.