Courtesy of GoCobbers.com, Release: March 6, 2008

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Complete MIAC All-Conference Awards List

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MOORHEAD, Minn (3/06/08)-- After completing one of the best careers in Concordia men's basketball history, Cobber senior Luke Linz earned the league's top honor as he was named the MIAC Most Valuable Player as selected by the conference coaches.

Linz was one of three Concordia players to earn MIAC postseason honors. Freshman Erik Lien (Moorhead, Minn.) was named to the MIAC All-Conference Honorable mention Team and junior Cody Dyshaw Montevideo, Minn.) was the squad's honoree on the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team.

Linz becomes the third player in program history to earn conference MVP honors. He is the first CC player since the 1983 season to win the award. Garrett Byrne, a seven-foot center for CC, earned the honor in 1983 and Andy Askegaard claimed the award the year before in 1982 following the Cobber's MIAC title campaign.

He was also named to the MIAC All-Conference First Team for the second straight season. He helped the Cobbers go from last place in 2006-07 to fourth place in 2007-08. He was the driving force behind the team that claimed its first MIAC playoff berth since the 2003-04 season.

Linz led the team in scoring in 2007-08. He finished the year by averaging by averaging 18.2 points in all games and 18.9 points in conference play. He led the team in scoring in 21 of the 26 games. In the 22 league games he led the team in scoring 16 times and had at least 10 points in all 22 contests. He ended the year by scoring in double figures in 40 consecutive MIAC games.

He finished fifth in the MIAC in scoring in conference games and was ninth in rebounding. He was also in the top ten in the league in five different statistical categories. Besides scoring and rebounding, he was fourth in blocked shots (1.15), seventh in defensive rebounds (4.70) and 10th in field goal percentage (51.5%).

Linz was the first player in  program history to score 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds in a career. He finished his four years with 1,365 points and 525 rebounds. He is fourth on the school's all-time scoring list and second on the all-time rebounding chart.

Lien was another big factor in the team's success from the very first time he stepped on the court. Coming off the bench as the team's "sixth man", Lien finished the year second on the team in scoring with a 9.9 points per game average. He averaged 10.4 points per game in league play. Lien led the team in free throw percentage. He shot 85.7% from the line in all games and 87.0% in conference games. He was tied for third on the team in rebounding in MIAC contests, grabbing 3.6 boards per game.

Lien was 24th in the league in scoring and among the top five for scoring by a freshman. He was also tied for third in free throw percentage. Lien scored in double figures in 13 conference games and had a career high of 26 points against Macalester on Jan. 5.

Dyshaw was the team's main outside shooting threat. Possessing a deft touch from outside the arc, he led the team in 3-point field goals made and 3-point field goals attempted. In all games he connected on 36.8% of his shots from behind the arc, while in conference play he shot 40.3%. He was 11th in the MIAC in 3-point field goal percentage in league contests.

He was fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 6.2 points per game and averaged 6.6 points in MIAC games. Dyshaw had a season-high 13 points against Augsburg on Jan. 19 and scored at least eight points in four of the team's last eight games.