Concordia University 117, Northwestern College 111 (4 OT) - view stats
Concordia University rallied for a thrilling 117-111 men’s basketball win in quadruple overtime on Saturday in Seward. It was only the third quadruple-overtime game in GPAC history. The Bulldogs improved to 8-5 overall and 4-2 in the GPAC with the win. Northwestern dropped its first conference game of the year to fall to 9-4 overall and 5-1 in the GPAC.
Northwestern took control of the game early in the first half. The visiting Raiders led by as many as 14 in the opening 20 minutes and took a 41-32 lead into the halftime break. Northwestern took its largest lead of the game early in the second half at 47-32 and maintained a double-digit lead for a good portion of the second half.
Concordia chipped away at the deficit and took a 69-68 lead on a jumper by Sam Huebner with just over four minutes remaining in the game. Northwestern quickly answered and took a 73-69 lead with just over two minutes left in the contest. Concordia again rallied, and the teams traded leads several times down the stretch. Two made free throws by Concordia’s Brandon Schmidt with less than 10 seconds remaining in regulation tied the score at 77-77 and sent the game into overtime.
In the first overtime period, Northwestern led by as many as four at 83-79 with just under three minutes remaining. Concordia rallied to tie the game once again on a lay up by Tyler Byrd and two made free throws by Sam Huebner. Huebner’s lay up with just over a minute remaining gave the Bulldogs an 85-83 lead, but Walker Seim hit two free throws for Northwestern to tie the game once again at 85-85. Byrd scored again with less than a minute to play to give the Bulldogs an 87-85 lead, but a bucket by Brent Dunkelberger tied the game at 87-87 and forced another overtime period.
The second overtime period saw Concordia take a 99-96 lead with less than 20 seconds remaining. However, Seim connected on a three pointer with nine seconds left on the clock to send the game to a third overtime tied at 99-99.
Concordia held the lead for much of the way in the third overtime. The Bulldogs led by as many as five at 107-102, but the Red Raiders again rallied late. A jumper by Dunkelberger tied the score at 109-109 and forced a fourth overtime.
Concordia used solid free throw shooting in the fourth overtime to finally pull away for the win. Northwestern struggled from the field, while Concordia was 8-of-10 from the charity stripe in the final overtime period.
Both teams scored 50 points in the paint and totaled 18 second chance points in the game. Concordia held a 62-32 advantage in bench points, and Northwestern held a 65-55 rebounding advantage. Northwestern had 21 turnovers compared to 14 for Concordia.
Concordia hit 35-of-90 shots in the game for 38.9 percent. The Bulldogs were 9-of-39 from the three point line for 23.1 percent and 38-of-48 at the foul line for 79.2 percent.
Northwestern was 35-of-88 from the field for 39.8 percent. The Raiders connected on just 5-of-19 three point attempts for 26.3 percent and hit 36-of-48 free throws for 75 percent.
Sam Huebner and Evan Kucera led the way with double-doubles for the Bulldogs in the win. Huebner totaled 28 points and a game-high 17 rebounds, while Kucera delivered 25 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for Concordia. Tyler Byrd scored 20 points to go along with five assists, and Brandon Schmidt had 15 points with six assists. Brent Houchin also reached double figures for the Bulldogs with 11 points.
Daniel Van Kalsbeek scored a game-high 33 points and added nine rebounds for Northwestern. Ben Miller and Brent Dunkelberger each had double-doubles for the Red Raiders in the loss. Miller had 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Dunkelberger scored 19 points to go along with 10 rebounds off the bench. Walker Seim and Ryan Stock added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Raiders.
Concordia will take part in the Tom Byron Classic Tournament on Dec. 29 and 30.