 | 101 |
 | 97 |
Concordia's habit of sloppy play at the beginning of games continued in the quarter-final matchup as Briar Cliff jumped out to a 26-5 lead seven minutes into the first half before the Bulldogs began to battle back, cutting the lead to 49-36 at halftime.
Briar Cliff kept the Bulldogs at bay in the second half until 12:56 remaining. Trailing 66-56, Concordia went on a 12-2 run over the next three minutes to tie the game at 68-68. Concordia continued the run to take a 77-72 lead with a mid-range jumper by Dusan Veselinovic with 5:55 remaining. The Bulldogs then held an 82-76 advantage with 1:38 remaining when the Chargers' Chase Vander Feen hit a 3-pointer to cut into the Concordia lead. The Bulldogs responded when Ryan Shrum hit a 3-pointer with the shot clock running down.
With :18 remaining, freshman Kendal Bender had a chance to give the Bulldogs a five point lead but missed the front end of a double bonus opportunity, giving Concordia just a four point lead. Briar Cliff quickly moved the ball up the court and Brett Ratcliff hit a runner in the lane to cut the Bulldog advantage to two, 86-84. Concordia's inbounds pass was stolen by Vander Feen who put up a desperation 3-pointer that fell short. It landed in the waiting hands of Kyle Semprini who laid the ball in at the buzzer to send the game into overtime tied 86-86.
In overtime the Chargers held a 91-89 lead when Veselinovic nailed a 3-pointer to give Concordia the lead; the Bulldogs would not trail again in the game. The Bulldogs were up 97-95 when the Chargers' Kelvin Adams hit a runner to tie the game at 97-97. Tyler Byrd then took the inbounds pass the length of the court but missed a lay-up attempt. Fellow freshman Kendal Bender then redeemed himself for the earlier miss with a timely tip-in to give Concordia a 99-97 lead with :01 remaining in overtime. Briar Cliff attempted to call a timeout but did not realize they were without any remaining. Concordia's Tyler Bredehoeft then sank the two technical foul free throws to give the Bulldogs the 101-97 victory.
Byrd led the Bulldogs offensively with 25 points, all coming in the second half, while Veselinovic added 18 points. Sam Huebner and Andy Banahan each registered a double-double as Hueber finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds with Banahan finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Ryan Shrum and Tyler Bredehoeft each also finished in double digits with 16 and 11 points respectively. Chase Vander Feen led the Chargers with 20 points.
With the victory the Bulldogs earn the right to take on the Dakota Wesleyan Tigers in the GPAC semi-finals on Saturday evening at 8 p.m. in Mitchell, S.D. Concordia is now 20-11 while Briar Cliff falls to 23-7.