The Concordia University, Nebraska men's basketball team spilt a pair of games this past week, beating Doane College, 72-62 on Wednesday, before falling to Morningside College on Sunday, 84-75.
Concordia (6-5, 1-2 GPAC) was able to stay close with Morningside, ranked No. 25 in the NAIA DII Preseason Poll, but the Mustangs proved to be too much for the young Bulldog squad down the stretch.
Against the Mustangs of Morningside Concordia found themselves in a big hole to start the game, quickly falling behind 12-2. Also hampering the Bulldogs were turnovers, as they struggled to take care of the ball, finishing with 19 miscues in the game. Those 19 turnovers led to 27 points for the Mustangs.
The Bulldogs got a strong performance off the bench by sophomore guard Dustin Weber, who led all scorers in the game with 22 points. Seniors Benjamin Buhr and Scott Hannon were also in double digits with 14 and 10 points apiece.
On Wednesday, it was Weber who sparked a Concordia run that proved to be the difference in the Bulldog victory 72-62.
Despite being out-rebounded by 19 and shooting just 57.1 percent from the line the Bulldogs were able grab a 10-point win over the Tigers.
Sophomore Austin Thoms paced the Bulldogs with 20 points, 10 in each half. Andy Minor grabbed a team high eight rebounds. Scott Hannon added 19 points while Weber came off the bench for a dozen.
In contrast to Sunday, Concordia took advantage of 22 Doane turnovers, converting them into 26 points on Wednesday night.
Daone's Brett McFarland grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds to go along with 12 points. He was one of four players in double figures for the Tigers, including Dane Cruz with 15. Tyler Cyboron and Ben Streck chipped in with 10 points each.
The Bulldogs schedule continues this week with home games against Nebraska Wesleyan University (Wednesday) and Dakota Wesleyan University on Saturday.
The game on Wednesday was originally schedule for Tuesday, but was moved back a day because of the Bulldogs playing on Sunday. Both the women and men are in action on Wednesday at 6 and 8 p.m. respectively.
