The Concordia University, Nebraska men's basketball team picked up a pair of wins over the weekend at the Pizza Ranch Classic hosted by Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. The Bulldogs downed Avila University Eagles, 79-64, on Friday and defeated St. Ambrose, 66-62, on Saturday. Concordia (3-2) had three players in double figures each game. Avila is now 1-1 on the year while St. Ambrose fell to 0-2, losing to preseason No.2 Northwestern on Friday.
Against Avila the Bulldogs led for the majority of the contest, but the Eagles stuck close until midway through the second half.
After leading 39-31 at half, Concordia saw their lead dwindle as Avila took a one-point lead with 12:39 remaining on a bucket by Jermone Douglas. The teams then traded leads before the Bulldogs went on a 23-6 run to put the game out of reach for Avila. During the run Concordia's Casey Schrader scored 17 points.
Schrader, a freshman from Syracuse, Neb., shot 75 percent from the field en route to 18 points. He also grabbed six rebounds and had a blocked shot and a steal. Senior Scott Hannon led the Bulldogs in scoring with 21, going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, and grabbed eight boards. Also in double digits was senior Benjamin Buhr with 14.
As a team the Bulldogs shot 51 percent from the field and hit eight three-point field goals. Concordia was 21-of-31 from the charity stripe compared to just 12-of-21 for Avila.
On Saturday the Bulldogs led 23-10 midway through the first half before St. Ambrose cut the lead to one (27-26) with 3:22 left in the opening frame. A traditional three-point play from freshman Tyler Bredehoeft and a jumper and free throw by Hannon gave the Bulldogs a 33-28 lead at intermission.
Concordia never trailed in the second half, although St. Ambrose did tie the game at 51-51 with 6:37 remaining. The Bulldogs answered with a 12-4 run that featured eight free throws by Buhr. Of Concordia's 13 points scored during the run, 12 came via the charity stripe.
For the game the Bulldogs shot 76.5 percent from the free throw line, converting on 26-of-34 opportunities. Meanwhile St. Ambrose attempted just 15 free throws, making just eight.
Seniors Hannon and Buhr tied for game-high honors, scoring 15 points each. Buhr was 11-12 from the line. Junior Brandon Schmidt added 11 points and three steals while Schrader chipped in with 10 points. Bredehoeft and sophomore Dustin Weber came off the bench to score seven and eight points respectively.
Concordia is back in action this weekend at the Thrivent Lutheran Invite hosted by Concordia-Portland. The Bulldogs take on the host school in the opening round on Friday. All games from Portland, Ore., can be heard live on the Concordia Sports Network at www.cune.edu/athletics.