MITCHELL, S.D. – This was a Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 11) matinee the Concordia University Men’s Basketball team had to have if it was going to keep pace at the top of the league standings. Brad Bennett emerged in a big way, Tristan Smith returned to action and the Bulldogs dictated the tempo they wanted in what amounted to a 95-79 victory over Dakota Wesleyan at the Corn Palace. Bennett torched the net with 20 of his career high 26 points coming in the second half.
Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad has moved its winning streak to eight games while pulling back into a tie for first place in the GPAC standings with a 12-4 league mark (19-5 overall).
“Offensively in the second half, we had a nice spurt,” Limback said. “They’re tough to guard. They space you and they’re always a well-coached team. We allowed them to get back into the game with some poor defense, but man, Brad Bennett, and it’s great to have Tristan Smith back. Brad had a great flurry. I felt like the biggest difference maker today was Jaxon Weyand. No. 11 was getting some easy stuff. There are guys on the bench that have things to give, and he was ready today.”
Call it The Brad Bennett Game. No one shined brighter during the moments when the outcome hung in the balance. The Tigers fought back from a 50-39 deficit to take a second half lead and managed to play Concordia to a 67-67 tie with fewer than eight minutes remaining. Bennett and company regained control with an ensuing 15-3 run that featured 10 points from the Elkhorn, Neb., native. Bennett wound up making 10-of-14 shots from the floor, including 6-of-8 from beyond the arc. As a team, the Bulldogs shot a scintillating 64.7 percent (22-for-34) from the floor in the second half.
In his return after sitting out the wins over No. 12 Northwestern and Dordt, Smith filled the stat sheet with 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Two other Bulldogs hit double figures as Noah Schutte posted 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists and Lukas Helms supplied 14 points and five rebounds. Helms helped keep the offense afloat early on while Schutte was a focus of DWU’s defensive gameplan. In addition, Jaxon Stueve collected nine points and Hayden Frank added six off the bench. As Limback mentioned, Weyand played a key role defensively in the backcourt.
Winning at the Palace is typically a chore for any visitor. The Tigers (14-11, 9-8 GPAC) entered the contest with a 9-3 home record and had won four-straight games. They put together a solid offensive performance on Sunday while shooting 47.7 percent (31-for-65) from the floor. Kallan Herman and Diang Gatluak were the high scorers for DWU with 17 apiece. The Tigers were able to limit their turnovers to only seven, but they were manhandled on the boards, 43-25.
The return of Smith certainly factored into Concordia’s massive rebound advantage. Said Limback of Smith, “He’s an amazing athlete and has a great mental toughness. He could have probably played Monday against Dordt but giving him a full week to recover was important. He thought he was about 95 percent at the end of the week, which is probably better than he’s been all year. You can just see the difference he makes. You see the offensive stuff, but defensively he alters shots and allows us to switch. It’s great to have him back.”
Currently ranked 17th in the official NAIA RPI, the Bulldogs should vault into the NAIA coaches’ poll set to be released this Wednesday. The three-way tie for first place in the GPAC includes Concordia, Hastings and Northwestern – all at 12-4 in league games. Close behind are Morningside (11-5) and Dordt (10-6). There are four games remaining in the regular season.
The Bulldogs will be close to home on Wednesday with a road game at Doane (7-18, 2-15 GPAC) slated for a 7:45 p.m. CT tipoff in Crete. Concordia has won each of the past four meetings with Doane, including the matchup earlier this season in Seward. The Bulldogs won that contest by a score of 106-69.