OLATHE, Kan. – This looked a lot more like the Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball team that won seven in a row. In dipping outside of league play, the Bulldogs were the clear aggressor out of the gates and rolled to a 101-88 victory on the home court of MidAmerica Nazarene University on Friday (Dec. 19). The Cook Center in Olathe, Kan., is a venue that claimed victims of GPAC rivals Dordt and Morningside earlier this season.
Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad has earned its fourth road win of the 2025-26 season. The Bulldogs improved to 9-4 overall.
“I’m really pleased with our offense,” Limback said. “When the ball moves like that and the rhythm starts to develop, guys make more shots. Our guys did a great job getting to the free throw line. Brooks (Kissinger) was living there. He made some good reads. I’m really proud of our guys. This isn’t not an easy trip. MidAmerica Nazarene is a good basketball team. The first half especially, offensively, was really, really good.”
When the host Pioneers made a second half charge, Concordia had an answer. MNU trimmed what was a 70-49 deficit to nine (74-65) with a 16-4 surge. Jaxon Stueve followed with perhaps the game’s two most significant buckets as he drove for two and then curled in a trey from well beyond the arc. The Pioneers did manage to pull back within eight (92-84) before Brooks Kissinger went to work down the stretch. He scored or assisted on the team’s final nine points, putting the game on ice.
The backcourt combo of Dane Jacobsen and Kissinger was about as easy to deal with as a weekend visit from Cousin Eddie. They led the charge for a Bulldog squad that shot 63.2 percent (36-for-57) from the field while hitting the 100-point mark for the third time this season. Jacobsen dropped a career-high 24 points while making 11-of-13 shots from the floor. Kissinger equaled him with 24 points on the strength of 14-for-18 free throw shooting. The Ashland native added seven rebounds and five assists to his stat line.
It was Jacobsen who set the tone. He even offered up a driving layup with an exceptionally high degree of difficulty around the 12-minute mark. Jacobsen and his fellow starters combined for 83 points. Stueve finished with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists and Tate Odvody tallied 14 points, four assists and three steals. Collectively, Concordia shored up its foul shooting and went 20-for-26 from the charity stripe. Rebounding was nearly even with a slight edge, 31-30, held by the Bulldogs.
MNU (9-6) had hoped to avenge last season’s loss at Friedrich Arena. However, the Pioneers never fully recovered from a 9-0 hole out to open the contest. They were outgunned despite 24 points from Malachi Bryant and 22 from Uriah Boutte. MNU put up 49 points in the second half and shot 52.2 percent for the evening.
Jacobsen’s previous career high was 21 last month at Northwestern. Said Limback of Jacobsen, “He’s starting to develop some confidence. He’s an unbelievable 3-point shooter, but you wouldn’t notice sometimes because he’s so unselfish. He had some really nice pullups in the first half to get us going. He’s a really intelligent player. The way he sees the game and gets us in rhythm is a huge thing for us … some of our guys need this break. I just hope they don’t eat too many Christmas goodies. I know they’re hungry.”
The Bulldogs will break for Christmas before returning to action just before New Year’s. Up next on the schedule is the St. Francis Fighting Saints New Year’s Classic (Dec. 30-31) in Joliet, Ill. As part of the event, Concordia will take on host St. Francis and Governors State University (Ill.).