 | 66 |
 | 59 |
The post-season future of the Concordia University men's basketball team was thrown a curve ball with a 66-59 defeat at the hands of the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves at the Doghouse in Seward, Neb. The Bulldogs were on track to be one of the teams earning a first-round bye in the GPAC tournament held later this month, and now they will need help from the top teams in the GPAC in order to go directly into the second round.
A back-and-forth game throughout the first half between the two top defensive teams in the GPAC led to eight ties and six lead changes. Dusan Veselinovic's layup with two seconds remaining in the half gave the Bulldogs a slim 29-28 lead heading into the break. The Prairie Wolves started the second half on fire with an 8-0 run. It was a setback that Concordia nearly overcame twice as the second half continued, but Nebraska Wesleyan's defense and strong rebounding kept the Bulldogs at bay.
For the night, the Prairie Wolves out-rebounded the Bulldogs 49-34. Concordia's shooting was also sub-par. The Bulldogs hit just 3-of-21 from 3-point land and went 14-for-25 (56 percent) from the charity stripe.
Concordia was led offensively by Tyler Bredehoeft and Ryan Shrum. Each had 12 points. Dylan Aylward led Nebraska Wesleyan with 19 points and six rebounds.
With the loss the Bulldogs fall to 18-8 overall and 10-5 in the GPAC. Nebraska Wesleyan moves to 9-13 overall and 5-10 in the GPAC.
Concordia will next play on Saturday, Feb. 14, when the Bulldogs host the Dordt College Defenders. Senior day and parent's day will be celebrated in conjunction with the game, the final home contest scheduled for the regular season.