The Concordia University men's basketball dropped a heart breaker Tuesday, losing 66-64 to the Doane College Tigers in GPAC action at the Fuhrer Field House in Crete, Neb.
The Bulldogs' (9-14, 3-9 GPAC) once again struggled out of the gate in the first half, shooting 11-for-34 from the field and 4-for-10 from three-point land which lead to a 41-30 halftime deficit that Bulldogs had to try to dig themselves out of in the second half. The Tigers (9-12, 5-7 GPAC) picked up an all important January home victory to move back into position to host a first round GPAC tournament game.
The Bulldogs once again saw a trend of poor shooting on their end and their opponent not missing much to jump out to a big first-half lead. The largest Tiger lead came with 2:37 remaining in the first half when the Jack Lind hit on 1-of-2 free throws to put Doane up 38-21. From that point a different Concordia team took the court as the Bulldogs ended the half on a 9-3 run to cut the lead to 11 at 41-30.
The Bulldogs picked up where they left off in the first half, going starting the half on a 13-3 run in the first 8 minutes to cut the Doane lead to 44-43. Concordia took their first lead of the second half with 8:53 remaining, when sophomore Dustin Weber hit a step-back three pointer to put the Bulldogs up 49-47. The two teams traded buckets and the lead until the 3:55 mark. After a Casey Schrader miss Doane's Dane Cruz found Kolby Hamilton with a spectacular pass for a lay in while a foul was called on Schrader. Hamilton converted on the three-point play to put the Tigers up 5 at 60-55.
After both teams turned the ball over on offense Weber came off a screen and drained a three from deep behind the arc to pull the Bulldogs within two with 2:28 remaining. The Tigers responded as they had all game when Cruz drove the length of the court for a quick lay in. The Bulldogs moved quickly up the court and after Scott Hannon missed on a three point attempt, freshman Andy Banahan out-muscled the Tiger defense for the offensive rebound and scored the putback to pull Concordia back within a bucket.
Doane looked to seal the game when Ben Streck pulled up for a wide open three point attempt but after a scramble freshman Tyler Bredehoeft took the ball coast to coast un contested to tie the game at 62-62 with just over a minute left remaining. On the next possession Doane was able to isolate Hamilton on Banahan and with a spin move Hamilton was able to draw a foul and head to free throw line with :54. Hamilton converted on both free throws to give the Tigers the led. On the ensuing inbounds play Bredehoeft drove to the basket and made an acrobatic lay in with three Doane defenders draped on his back.
With :44 remaining in the ball game Doane set up their half court offense and the Bulldog defense looked to be holding until Cruz came off a double screen and knocked down a 15 foot jump shot with :09 to put the Tigers up 66-64. Bredehoeft pushed the ball up the court and was able to find senior Benjamin Buhr to a wide open three point attempt at the buzzer, but Buhr's attempt rimmed out as the game ended.
Concordia was led on the night by Weber with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting that all came from three-point land. Weber added 3-of-5 shooting from the free throw line. Buhr contributed with 14 points and Bredehoeft added 10 points off the bench for the Bulldogs.
The Tigers were led by Dane Cruz with 23 points, and Tyler Cyboron added 14 points for Doane.
The Bulldogs will make their way back to the Doghouse for a 4 p.m. GPAC match up with the Morningside College Mustangs on Saturday, February 2.