Bulldog Weekly Report (Feb. 7)

By Jacob Knabel on Feb. 7, 2023 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week

Female: Adrianna Rodencal, Track & Field

A Lincoln Lutheran alum, Rodencal broke the school record in the 60 meter hurdles last week while running a time of 8.80 at the Husker Invite. Rodencal also clocked times of 7.92 in the 60 meters and 25.76 in the 200 meters. She currently leads the GPAC and ranks 15th nationally in the 60 hurdles.

Male: Calvin Rohde, Track & Field

Rohde, who hails from Reed City, Mich., continued his impressive indoor season last week with personal bests in the 1,000 meters (2:27.16 c) and in the mile (4:12.33). Those times were both ‘A’ standards that have moved him up to national rankings of fourth in the 1,000 and 12th in the mile.

Previous BAAM Athletes of the Week
Jan. 31 – Noah Schutte (basketball) / Kristin Vieselmeyer (basketball)
Jan. 24 – Rylee Haecker (track & field) / Calvin Rohde (track & field)
Jan. 17 – Kylahn Freiberg (track & field) / Garrett Seagren (basketball)
Jan. 10 – Sadie Powell (basketball) / Noah Schutte (basketball)
Dec. 13 – Chase Berry (track & field) / Adrianna Rodencal (track & field) / Taysha Rushton (basketball)
Dec. 6 – Gabi Nordaker (volleyball) / Gage Smith (basketball)
Nov. 29 – Rylee Ladd (powerlifting) / Noah Schutte (basketball)
Nov. 15 – Rebecca Gebhardt (volleyball) / Federico Simonetti (Soccer)
Nov. 8 – Kylahn Freiberg (cross country) / Kaden Peters (football)
Nov. 1 – Breyer Meeks (shooting sports) / Carlos Orquiz (soccer) / Morgan Nibbe (volleyball)
Oct. 25 – Bree Burtwistle (volleyball) / Isaiah Shaddick (soccer)
Oct. 18 – Korrell Koehlmoos (football) / Carly Rodaway (volleyball)
Oct. 11 – Rylee Haecker (cross country) / DJ McGarvie (football)
Oct. 4 – Rebecca Gebhardt (volleyball) / Korrell Koehlmoos (football)
Sept. 27 – Bree Burtwistle (volleyball) / Ryan Wokutch (soccer)
Sept. 20 – Tanner Muff (shooting sports) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball) / Katie Welker (shooting sports)
Sept. 13 – Kierstynn Garner (soccer) / Jack Nelson (shooting sports)
Sept. 6 – Camryn Opfer (volleyball) / Camden Sesna (cross country)
Aug. 30 – Federico Simonetti (soccer) / Carly Rodaway (volleyball)
Aug. 23 – Bree Burtwistle (volleyball)

2022-23 BAAM Athletes of the Month
December – Adrianna Rodencal (track & field) / Gage Smith (basketball)
November – Rebecca Gebhardt (volleyball); Noah Schutte (basketball)
October – Bree Burtwistle (volleyball); Korrell Koehlmoos (football); Carly Rodaway (volleyball)
September – Gabi Nordaker (volleyball); Camryn Opfer (volleyball); Camden Sesna (cross country)

News and notes:

BAAM luncheons are held every Tuesday at 12 p.m. CT inside the Dog House Grill, located in the Janzow Campus Center. The luncheons feature reports from head coaches who are in season at the time. For information on how to join BAAM, click HERE. It is not a requirement to be a BAAM member in order to attend the weekly luncheons.

Cheer/Dance teams place third at Doane Invite: A hectic stretch of the competition season continued this past Friday (Feb. 3) as the Concordia Competitive Cheer and Dance squads competed at the Doane Cheer & Dance Invite. The Bulldogs emerged knowing they can be better next time out. Both teams placed third. Dance earned a score of 78.97 while cheer posted a score of 70.60. Those totals were below their season averages entering last week. Head Coach Mandi Maser’s squads will have a chance to show improvement this week as they take to the York University Crown Classic Invite on Friday before turning around to host the Concordia University Duals on Saturday. The competitions on Saturday will begin at 10 a.m. CT from Friedrich Arena. For additional details, check out the recaps from last week linked below.
--Cheer Doane Invite recap
--Dance Doane Invite recap

Countdown to opening day: The first pitch of the 2023 Concordia Baseball season is just four days away. The Bulldogs will get things started this Saturday and Sunday with three games in Oklahoma City, Okla., where they will take on No. 11 Oklahoma City University twice and No. 5 Bellevue University once. Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s program is coming off a 2022 season that saw it go 40-17-1 overall, win the GPAC tournament title and come within one victory of reaching the NAIA World Series. Meanwhile, Head Coach Brock Culler’s softball team will wait until Feb. 18-19 to open up action at the Kansas City NAIA Softball Invite. Check out the links below for season previews on both squads.
--2023 Baseball Season Preview
--2023 Softball Season Preview

Tennis to resume 2022-23 season by hosting Grand View: Concordia Tennis will pick up where it left off in the fall when it resumes its 2022-23 season on Saturday. Both the men and women will host Grand View University (Iowa) inside the Fieldhouse at 11:30 a.m. Head Coach Cam Long’s squads are both 1-2. The men earned a 4-3 win over Bethel College (Kan.) in the fall while the women took a 5-2 decision over Iowa Central Community College. In the latest GPAC ratings, the Bulldogs are ranked third for both men and women. As part of the spring season, Concordia is slated to open conference play against Hastings on March 25. Click the links below to read season previews.
--Concordia Men’s Tennis
--Concordia Women’s Tennis

Powerlifting takes four first-place medals at Nebraska State Championships: The Bulldogs were represented by 10 lifters at the Nebraska State Championships held at Midland in Fremont, Neb., on Jan. 28 and came away with four first-place finishes. The event featured a combined 87 collegiate, high school and adult athletes who competed in the standard powerlifting disciplines of squat, bench press and deadlift. Every single Bulldog improved compared to the team’s most recent outing, the Midwest Regionals on Nov. 19. First place claims were made by Dax Davis (67.5kg), Adrian Hernandez (110kg), Hunter Powers (75kg) and Emma Singer (60kg). Between powerlifting and weightlifting, Head Coach Freddie Myles has led the Bulldogs into a total of six competitions in the program’s inaugural 2022-23 season. To recap the season to date for Head Coach Freddie Myles’ programs, check out the Concordia Lifting Sports home page HERE.

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its eighth year of existence. The show airs live for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT on KTMX-FM 104.9 Max Country. The weekly feature can also be heard live via 104.9 Max Country’s website or by downloading the Max Country app. Throughout the 2022-23 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country. Parker Cyza serves as the host of the coaches’ show as well as the play-by-play voice for football and basketball. Frank Greene is in his eighth season calling Concordia volleyball.

Concordia Sports Network: Live webcasts for most home varsity contests can be accessed by visiting https://www.cune.edu/athletics/watch-bulldogs at game time. Beginning in 2019-20, Concordia Athletics partnered with PrestoSports for live video and statistical streaming. Live webcast links for away contests are publicized in sport specific releases that preview action for that particular week. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted.


Wrestling

·        The most significant portion of the season is just ahead for the Bulldogs, who are finished with duals following last week’s triangular with Colby Community College and York University. Concordia celebrated its senior class by trouncing the Trojans, 49-4, and the Panthers, 44-6, on Feb. 2. The Bulldogs did not lose to any of their nonconference opponents and finished the dual slate at 13-2 overall (6-2 GPAC). Head Coach Chase Clasen also entered a handful of competitors into the Dave Edmonds Invitational in Sioux City, Iowa, on Feb. 4. Concordia placed third in the GPAC regular season standings. For more information on Concordia Wrestling, click HERE.

·        Notching win No. 13 was particularly impressive considering it equaled the program record for dual victories in a single season. The 2022-23 Bulldogs have pulled even with the 2015-16 (13-4) and 2019-20 (13-2) teams for the school record. Two other Concordia squads cracked double digits: the 2016-17 (11-4) and 1970-71 (10-3) editions. Over the past 10 seasons, the Bulldogs have finished at .500 or better nine times. During that stretch, the Bulldogs won GPAC dual championships in 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2018-19 and 2019-20. By that measure, Concordia was the dominant team in the GPAC – and the goal is to get back to that standard.

·        The Bulldogs triumphed in 17 of the 20 matches in last week’s home duals versus Colby/York. Concordia put an exclamation mark on the night by collecting eight pins. At 125 pounds, Bryce Karlin helped set the tone for the evening by pinning his opponent from Colby in 2:05. The pins became contagious as the Trojans were victimized by additional falls from Jeaven Scdoris (149), Tavoris Smith (157), Stephen Duffy (184), Logan Davidson (197) and Cy Renney (285). Meanwhile, Creighton Baughman (141) and Issiah Burks (165) won by technical fall and Jose Sanchez (174) pulled out a 9-6 decision. The seniors honored prior to the duals were Sanchez, Smith and Brandon Gonzalez.

·        The lone nationally ranked grapplers in the lineup are Baughman (15th at 141) and Davidson (25th at 184), but Concordia has shown it’s a particularly tough out 125 through heavyweight. Baughman polished off a cruise-control type of night with a first period fall of York’s Andy Garza. The Panthers did manage to hang in there early on with the help of a win by decision apiece from Harley Williamson (133) and John Fox (157). It was all Bulldogs from there with Renney adding an exclamation point by nailing his heavyweight counterpart to the mat in just 1:04. In a unique matchup, Tommy Wentz up against his former school and was defeated, 6-1, by Fox.

·        At the Edmonds Invite, Teegan Tschampel led the way by placing fourth at 184 pounds. His two victories both came by fall – over Logan Kuehl (unattached) and Dickinson State University (N.D.)’s Collin McGrath. It was also a fine day for Fremont, Neb., native Garret Moser, who led the team with three wins at the Edmonds Invite. Included in his 3-2 day at 174 pounds were wins over two GPAC opponents: Morningside’s Joseph Gray (20-5 technical fall) and Midland’s Colton Horne (pin, 2:56). Moser fell short of placing when he was pinned in consolation round five. A win apiece was collected in Sioux City by Henry Gaertner (141) and Tracey Allen (149). Meanwhile, Charles Hutson went 0-2 at 157.

·        The season to date has included 15 duals and seven tournaments. At 13-2 in duals, the Bulldogs far surpassed their win total from 2021-22 when they went 6-6 (3-5 GPAC). The two losses this season have come at the hands of the two highest rated teams in the GPAC. To this point, 26 Bulldogs have wrestled in at least one match. The following Concordia competitors own at least five wins on the season: Creighton Baughman (21-7), Tommy Wentz (18-10), Stephen Duffy (13-8), Issiah Burks (13-11), Bryce Karlin (12-8), Jose Sanchez (12-14), Grant Wells (11-13), Garret Moser (11-11), Jeaven Scdoris (11-13), Logan Davidson (9-4), Cy Renney (8-16), Thomas Ivey (7-9), Kobe Lyons (6-2) and Torrance Keehn (6-8). Karlin paces the team with nine pins, followed by Baughman, Duffy and Renney with six apiece.

·        The Bulldogs have this week off from competition while they gear up for the GPAC Championships slated for Feb. 17-18 on the Doane campus in Crete, Neb. Each conference school is allowed to enter 12 wrestlers into the GPAC tournament. Concordia is hoping to improve upon last season’s GPAC Championships placement of sixth. In addition, individual berths to the national tournament will be on the line.


Track & Field

·        Another fruitful weekend of action saw the Bulldogs host the Concordia Classic (Feb. 3) while 11 athletes also represented the program at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational (Feb. 3-4). Four new automatic national qualifying standards were put on the board with major highlights coming from a loaded pole vault crew and via Adrianna Rodencal and her new school record in the 60 meter hurdles. The monster Concordia Classic featured athletes from 14 different institutions. For more information on Concordia Track & Field, click HERE.

·        The breakthrough performances last week, in terms of new automatic national qualifying standards, came from vaulters Erin Boggs, Amira Cummings and Kayla Svoboda, as well as Maddie Robinson in the weight throw (54’ 3 ¼”). Each of the vaulters eclipsed 11’ 6 ½” and joined teammates Josie Puelz (13’ ¼”) and Erin Mapson (12’ 2 ½”) in the qualifying field. Impressively, pole vault coach Jason Berry’s crew has also qualified three athletes on the men’s side: Zach Bennetts, Chase Berry and Zach Zohner. In last week’s USTFCCCA event squad rankings, Concordia landed at No. 2 nationally for both the men’s and women’s pole vault. As for Robinson, she’s now qualified for nationals in both the weight throw and shot put.

·        Below is a complete listing of Concordia athletes who possess marks meeting either the ‘A’ or ‘B’ national reporting standard. The tally after five weekends of indoor competition includes 20 ‘A’ standards and 25 ‘B’ standards. In addition, four Bulldog pentathletes have eclipsed the minimum national reporting standard of 2,950 points. Amy Richert currently ranks No. 4 nationally in the pentathlon.

o   Women’s 4x400m Relay, A (3:54.81)

o   Women’s 4x800m Relay, B (9:39.96)

o   Men’s Distance Medley Relay, A (10:10.06)

o   Women’s Distance Medley Relay, A (12:20.68)

o   Elena Batenhorst – No. 15 in NAIA in pentathlon (3,022)

o   Rachel Battershell – 60 Hurdles, A (8.94); 400 Meters, B (57.64)

o   Zach Bennetts – Pole Vault, A (15’ 11”)

o   Chase Berry – Pole Vault, A (15’ 7”)

o   Erin Boggs – Pole Vault, A (11’ 6 ½”)

o   Dagne’ Buck – Weight Throw, B (55’ 7”)

o   Mark Cooke – 60 Hurdles, B (8.29)

o   Amira Cummings – Pole Vault, A (11’ 6 ½”)

o   Josiah Edwards – Weight Throw, B (54’)

o   Jenna Esch – 400 Meters, B (58.62); 600 Meters, B (1:36.22)

o   Kylahn Freiberg – Mile, B (5:07.94); 3,000 Meters, B (10:24.45)

o   Abby Gerber – Weight Throw, B (53’ 1 ½”)

o   Rylee Haecker – 1,000 Meters, A (2:56.44); Mile, B (5:06.10)

o   Brady Klute – Weight Throw, B (55’ 11”)

o   Jordan Koepke – 600 Meters, B (1:37.27)

o   Wyatt Loga – High Jump, B (6’ 7”)

o   Erin Mapson – Pole Vault, A (12’ 2 ½”)

o   Colton Meyer – 400 Meters, A (48.57)

o   Hannah Newton – High Jump, B (5’ 4 ½”)

o   Josi Noble – No. 21 in NAIA in Pentathlon (2,951)

o   Alli Owings – Weight Throw, B (52’ 6”)

o   Kamryn Pokorney – Weight Throw, B (52’ 1 ¼”); Shot Put, B (42’ 10 ¼”)

o   Josie Puelz – Pole Vault, A (13’ ¼”)

o   Joel Rathe – Long Jump, B (23’ ¾”)

o   Amy Richert – No. 4 in NAIA in Pentathlon (3,487); High Jump, B (5’ 4 ½”); 60 Hurdles, B (9.07)

o   Maddie Robinson – Shot Put, A (44’ 9”); Weight Throw, A (54’ 3 ¼”)

o   Adrianna Rodencal – 60 Hurdles, A (8.80)

o   Calvin Rohde – 1,000 Meters, A (2:27.16); Mile, A (4:12.33)

o   Myles Sadd – High Jump, B (6’ 7”)

o   Isabelle Salters – No. 19 in NAIA in Pentathlon (2,968)

o   Darien Semedo – Shot Put, B (51’ 5 ¾”); Weight Throw, B (53’ 9 ¾”)

o   Kayla Svoboda – Pole Vault, A (11’ 6 ½”)

o   Abi Wohlgemuth – Weight Throw, B (53’ 2 ¼”)

o   Chris Wren – Weight Throw, A (62’ 10 ¾”)

o   Zach Zohner – Pole Vault, A (15’ 7”)

·        Rodencal is making a major impact as a freshman who enjoyed a stellar athletic career at Lincoln Lutheran High School. She ran the 60 hurdles in 8.80 seconds during the prelims at the Husker Invite and just missed the finals in a field loaded with NCAA Division I competitors. Rodencal also clocked times of 7.92 in the 60 meter dash and 25.76 in the 200 meters while in action at the Devaney Center. Her hurdles time broke a three-year old school standard of 8.81 held by current teammate Rachel Battershell. On the updated performance lists, Rodencal ranks No. 1 in the GPAC and No. 15 nationally in the 60 hurdles.

·        Named GPAC Track Athlete of the Week on Feb. 1, Calvin Rohde has continued to tear it up this indoor season. The Reed City, Mich., native clocked new personal bests this past week in both the 1,000 meters (2:27.16 c) and in the mile (4:12.33). Those times were both ‘A’ standards that have moved him up to national rankings of fourth in the 1,000 and 12th in the mile. He was also part of distance medley relay that qualified for nationals back on Jan. 21 (currently sitting No. 6 in the NAIA). Also in action at the Devaney Center, Rylee Haecker ran the mile in 5:08.24.

·        There were four fresh ‘B’ standards that came out of the Concordia Classic, courtesy of Jordan Koepke (600 meters), Kamryn Pokorney (shot put), Amy Richert (60 hurdles) and Darien Semedo (weight throw). A sophomore from Gulf Breeze, Fla., Koepke is nearing 100 percent health as she aspires to get back to the form that saw her place third nationally in the 600 meters in 2022. Koepke will be headed back to nationals as part of the 4x400 meter relay – and could also wind up running the 600 in March.

·        The Bulldogs are again holding down top five national rankings on both sides, according to the USTFCCCA calculations. Concordia landed at No. 2 on the women’s side and at No. 4 on the men’s side in NAIA ratings released on Feb. 1 by the USTFCCCA. The previous week, the Bulldogs were ranked second (women) and fifth (men), respectively. The women own an impressive string of six-straight NAIA top five finishes at national indoor/outdoor meets.

·        Concordia will stay put at home – at least until the national championships in Brookings, S.D. The Bulldogs are readying to host the Concordia Invite on Friday. The tentative meet schedule can be found HERE. That meet will serve as a precursor to the GPAC Championships to be held in Seward on Feb. 17-18. Concordia will then have until March 2 before diving into national championship action.


Women’s Basketball

·        Another encouraging week of action unfolded as the Bulldogs wiped the floor with Midland, 102-64, in Fremont, Neb., on Feb. 1 before taking fourth-ranked Dordt to the wire in a 76-69 home loss on Feb. 4. The victory at Midland had put Concordia at 10-1 over an 11-game GPAC stretch that began in December. The hot stretch has helped the Bulldogs move into a tie for fourth place in the GPAC standings. Head Coach Drew Olson’s squad owns an overall mark of 16-8 (12-6 GPAC). The current top three in the league standings are Dordt (17-1), Jamestown (14-4) and Briar Cliff (13-5). For more information on Concordia Women’s Basketball, click HERE.

·        The Bulldogs have not been receiving votes in the national poll, but they are in much better shape in regards to the national tournament than the human polls would indicate. In metrics released at the end of January, Concordia was revealed as the No. 22 team in the official RPI and has played the 10th best strength of schedule in the NAIA. Additionally, the Bulldogs are rated fifth in the North/Central “Arc Rankings” unveiled on Jan. 30. The top four in the region are currently Dordt, Briar Cliff, Dakota State and Jamestown. Though not an official NAIA metric, Massey Ratings lists Concordia as the No. 17 team in the NAIA. Based on the latest RPI, the Bulldogs’ best wins this season have come over No. 34 Dakota State, No. 43 Northwestern, No. 45 Dakota Wesleyan and No. 53 Morningside (twice).

·        Taysha Rushton has enjoyed playing at the Wikert Event Center in Fremont. A year ago, she racked up 26 points in the first half on her way to a 31-point outing in a 101-57 victory at Midland. Déjà vu struck last week as Rushton made her first eight shots and totaled 22 of her 29 points in the first half in leading the 102-64 triumph. Rushton finished 10-for-11 from the floor and an otherworldly 7-for-7 from 3-point range. Abby Krieser also poured in a career high 20 points while adding eight assists, five steals and five rebounds. Off the bench, Kendal Brigham posted 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Concordia went 19-for-45 (.422) from 3-point range in the scorching of the Warriors (3-20, 1-17 GPAC).

·        The Bulldogs gave No. 4 Dordt (23-1, 17-1 GPAC) their best shot in a suspenseful wire-to-wire battle inside Friedrich Arena. In the end, the Defenders were too much thanks in large part to their 12 offensive rebounds and stingy defensive play down the stretch. Dordt was led by a star trio of Bailey Beckman, Karly Gustafson and Janie Schoonhoven (combined for 54 points). Three Concordia players reached double figures: Sadie Powell (18), Krieser (16) and Rushton (14). Powell also added seven rebounds and three steals in one of her better outings of the season to date. Brigham posted nine points and three assists off the bench. The Defenders (only nine turnovers) managed to neutralize the full-court press.

·        With her seven treys at Midland, Rushton hit 200 3-point field goals for her career exactly. The Midland, Texas, native joins six Bulldogs in program history with at least 200 career treys: Kristen Conahan (323), Melissa Tinkham (266), Andrea Janssen (247), Brenleigh Daum (232), Mackenzie Koepke (204) and Bailey Morris (201). Rushton has also jumped to 18th on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,301 points in 84 games. Rushton has notched additional career totals of 235 rebounds, 232 assists and 137 steals.

·        Since the calendar flipped to 2023, the Bulldogs own a record of 9-2 with the lone losses coming on the road at Jamestown and at home to Dordt. Over that 11-game stretch, Concordia has averaged 78.0 points per game and has shot 42.8 percent from the floor while limiting opponents to 59.3 points per game and 34.6 percent shooting. The balance during that run has been striking with five Bulldogs averaging at least 7.6 points: Rushton (13.5), Krieser (11.0), Powell (10.2), Brigham (8.6) and Kristin Vieslemeyer (7.6). Turnover margin has also been a key to that 9-2 mark as Concordia has forced 213 turnovers and committed only 146 over that time period.

·        In terms of the defensive efficiency metric, the Bulldogs (.827) have been the most difficult team in the league to score on. The metric measure points per possession allowed. The surge Concordia has been on has also pushed its GPAC rankings to third in field goal percentage defense (.384) and to fifth in scoring defense (62.5). The Bulldogs continue to force more turnovers per game (20.3) than any other GPAC squad. Individually, both Krieser (2.0 spg) and Mackenzie Toomey (2.0 spg) rank in the top 10 of the conference in terms of steals per game.

·        Two short road trips are on this week’s docket as Concordia will be at Doane (13-11, 7-11 GPAC) for a 6 p.m. CT tipoff inside the Haddix Center on Wednesday. Then on Saturday, the Bulldogs will journey to Omaha for a 2 p.m. contest at College of Saint Mary (5-19, 2-16 GPAC). Concordia owns lengthy series win streaks against both foes – 13 versus Doane and 21 versus College of Saint Mary.


Men’s Basketball

·        The win streak grew to four in the middle of last week as the Bulldogs blew out Midland, 91-63, in Fremont, Neb., on Feb. 1. Three days later, Concordia’s rally came up short in a 74-71 home loss to Dordt. That defeat was a blow to the Bulldogs’ chances of a top four finish in the GPAC standings. Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad currently resides in fifth place with a 9-8 league mark (15-10 overall). The current top four in the standings are Jamestown (14-3), Dordt (11-5), Morningside (11-5) and Northwestern (10-6). For more information on Concordia Men’s Basketball, click HERE.

·        The metrics that are released by the NAIA paint a picture of where the Bulldogs stand in relation to a potential national tournament berth. In late January, Concordia stood at No. 49 in the official RPI and had played the 33rd toughest schedule. In addition, the Bulldogs are rated 10th in the North-Central “ARC Rankings” that were released on Jan. 29. The top four teams in region are all from the GPAC: Jamestown, Morningside, Northwestern and Dordt. In other words, Concordia has work to do in order to strengthen its season profile leading up to selection day. The GPAC is awarded two automatic bids to the national tournament.

·        Each of the Bulldogs’ wins during the recent four-game streak came by margins of 18 or more points. Concordia hammered Midland (9-16, 3-14 GPAC) by opening the contest on a 15-0 spurt with all 15 points coming from the combination of Brad Bennett and Noah Schutte. The Bulldogs held a double digit lead for 37:19 of game time while shooting 48.5 percent (33-for-68) from the floor and 43.3 percent (13-for-30) from 3-point range. Schutte finished with 22 points and eight rebounds on 8-for-11 shooting from the floor. Garrett Seagren equaled Schutte with a career high 22 points. Meanwhile, Bennett recorded 16 points (4-for-5 from 3-point range) and Gage Smith just missed a triple-double in posting eight points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds. The Bulldogs swept the season series from the Warriors.

·        In a game featuring many twists and turns, Concordia saw an early 11-point lead shift to a late 11-point deficit in its matchup with Dordt. Gage Smith spearheaded a comeback effort that featured a 10-2 run. Down 74-71 in the closing seconds, the Bulldogs misfired on three attempts from beyond the arc. The Defenders (19-5, 11-5 GPAC) escaped with their first win inside Friedrich Arena since December 2013. They did so despite a season high 28 points from Smith, who also grabbed six rebounds and four steals. Schutte posted 19 points and nine rebounds as the only other Concordia player in double figures. Dordt got 18 points apiece from Bryce Coppock and Jacob Vis. The Bulldogs had won the season’s first meeting, 87-72, in Sioux Center, Iowa.

·        Schutte enters this week six points shy of becoming the program’s 34th all-time player to score 1,000 points for a career. He’s also totaled 397 rebounds in 77 career collegiate games. The Laurel, Neb., native would seem to be a virtual lock for First Team All-GPAC honors at this point. Among conference players, he ranks sixth in scoring average (18.4), ninth in free throw percentage (.786), 10th in field goal percentage (.542), 12th in 3-point field goal percentage (.411) and 12th in rebounding average (6.3). Schutte is on a run during which he has totaled at least 19 points in five-straight games.

·        This past weekend, Smith moved up a rung to No. 18 on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,285 career points (leaping Justin Wiersema, 1,276). Smith is also on the verge of jumping up from No. 3 on the program rebound list. His current rebound total stands at 860, putting him behind only Matt List (928) and Chandler Folkerts (868) in school annals. In addition, Smith ranks 15th all-time in assists (255). The Elizabeth, Colo., native is a shining example of a player who has improved by leaps and bounds over time. He went from averages of 2.3 and 4.7 points per game, respectively, over his first two seasons to an all-conference player by year three when he averaged 13.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per contest.

·        The senior class that was honored prior to tipoff versus Dordt included Garrett Seagren, Kelly Vyhnalek and Skyler Woita, as well as student manager Braedon Thompson. In terms of on-court production, Seagren has played the most significant role. A transfer from Chaminade University in Hawaii, Seagren has started all 25 games this season and is averaging 5.9 points while serving as the team’s top backcourt defender. A Seward High School product, Vyhnalek has worked his way into the rotation as a senior and is averaging 2.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Woita has appeared in 13 games this season.

There will be only one game this week as the Bulldogs look forward to playing at Doane (10-14, 7-9 GPAC) at 7:45 p.m. CT on Wednesday. Concordia will return to the Haddix Center, where it lost a 54-50 grinder last season. The Bulldogs won this season’s first matchup in Seward, 74-61, over the Tigers. Doane is coming off a 94-52 loss at Northwestern this past weekend.