ORANGE CITY, Iowa – For roughly the first 12 minutes of the GPAC Championship Game, Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball matched 20th-ranked Northwestern blow for blow. The Red Raiders proceeded to take full control with a 20-0 run that paved the way for a 102-72 rout in front of their home fans inside a Bultman Center filled close to capacity. Northwestern blistered past 100 points thanks to 60.6 percent shooting on the night.
Head Coach Ben Limback has guided his program to four GPAC title game appearances in seven years. The loss means Concordia (19-12)’s national tournament hopes are now in the hands of the selection committee.
“We saw in this game why they were the preseason No. 1 (in the GPAC) and why they’re hosting and cutting nets down,” Limback said. “That’s an unbelievable team when they’re shooting like that. I thought we came out a little flat and a little shocked by the moment. We fought. I think it was 25-25 after a media (timeout) and the wheels just fell off. They got going, and I didn’t like our response. Against great teams you start to get on your heels. The role players feed off that. All of the sudden, everybody’s making shots.”
Winner of 13 straight, Northwestern (26-5) hit the Bulldogs not only with the star power of Jesse Van Kalsbeek and Jalen Langsy but also with strong role player contributions from the likes of Isaac Cordes and Brennan Reid. Cordes and Reid got loose for a combined seven treys during the first half that left the Bulldogs in the dust. The Red Raiders scorched the nets with 62.9 percent (22-for-35) first-half shooting.
Concordia trailed by 25 (57-52) at the break and never got any closer. The best stretches for the Bulldogs came in the first half when they started 6-for-10 from 3-point range. Zac Kulus knocked in his first three 3-point tries and finished with 20 points (one shy of a career high). The Bulldogs actually enjoyed a 25-23 lead midway through the first half when Kulus and Hayden Frank when back-to-back from long range.
Concordia turnovers and white-hot Northwestern shooting fueled the 20-0 run that carried the league’s second seed to victory. The Red Raiders unleashed a perimeter assault (16-for-32) and easily avenged the two regular season defeats they suffered at the hands of the Bulldogs. In classic Northwestern fashion, Langsy chucked ‘em in from the cheap seats and Van Kalsbeek stirred up the crowd with rim rattlers. Concordia attempted to guard the Raiders star duo with several different defenders.
The Bulldogs had hoped to taste the jubilation the program recently felt (2020 and 2022) when they celebrated with the GPAC banner. The exploits of the senior Kulus were a bright spot. Other double-figure scorers were Brooks Kissinger (17) and Dane Jacobsen (11). Bolstered by hot early shooting, Concordia finished at 47.4 percent (27-for-57) from the floor. It went 14-for-35 (.400) from 3-point range.
Said Limback, “We hope it’s not our final game. We needed to take care of business and win this one. We’ll see. We don’t want to be in this position ever again, but I am so proud of the guys. There have been some amazing moments and memories. Zac Kulus, what a way to go out if that was his last game. He’s had a tremendous run. We’re not going to go to that moment (in acknowledgement of the season’s end) – we’ll see.”
Impressively, Northwestern committed only four turnovers in a near perfect performance. Langsy led all scorers with 30 points as he went 6-for-13 from beyond the arc. Van Kalsbeek (26 points) added a late exclamation point with an emphatic two-hand slam that put his side at the century mark.
Considered a bubble team in the national tournament picture, Concordia will now await the NAIA National Championship selection show scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on Thursday. The show will be aired via the NAIA’s official YouTube channel. Entering this season, Limback had steered the Bulldogs to national tournament trips in five of the past six campaigns.
Concordia gave its tournament résumé a boost in the GPAC postseason with a run that included a road win over GPAC regular season champion and 21st-ranked Morningside. In the most recent RPI, the Bulldogs landed at No. 70.