The Central Community College men's basketball team defeated Concordia University JV, 71-47, on Wednesday night at the Raider Fieldhouse.

The game was close for the first ten minutes as the Raiders held a 16-14 lead over the Bulldogs. CCC took control by outscoring Concordia 27-11 over the final ten minutes to take a 43-25 halftime lead. In the second half, the Raiders built a 32-point lead on the strength of a 23-5 run over a nine-minute span.

"We got off to a slow start against Concordia's zone defense, but our defense helped get our offense going with some transition buckets," said CCC head coach John Ritzdorf. "I was pleased with how we responded to a slow start and a choppy game and how we didn't let it affect our defense. We held a very good shooting team to 4-20 from the three-point line."

Derek Merwick (pictured) led four CCC players in double figures with 14 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Jayden Byabato and Trey Deveaux each scored 13 points. PJ Davis scored a dozen points off the bench.

"Derek got us going by getting in the lane against their zone and his solid rebounding," said Ritzdorf. "PJ had really productive minutes off the bench as well."

The 11-5 Raiders return to the road on Saturday with a contest at Des Moines Area Community College. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.