SEWARD, Neb. – For the second straight home outing, Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball played without its fastball. This time, the Bulldogs couldn’t recover after struggling through a second half stretch of nearly nine minutes without a field goal. Visiting Hastings made it hurt and stunned Concordia, 75-57, inside Friedrich Arena, where the Bulldogs had been unbeaten this season.
Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad dipped to 13-6 overall (7-4 GPAC). The defeat was only the eighth at home for the program over the past six seasons.
“It was a tough night,” Limback said. “First half, I think defensively we were solid enough to sustain our offensive struggles. We just didn’t have confidence. I think that’s the bottom line. When we were shooting 3s, very rarely did guys have confidence when they shot them. Some guys passed up wide open shots. Just too much doubt. Adversity struck, and I didn’t think we handled it. A lot of credit to Hastings. They were tough and they competed.”
Led by a sparkling shooting night from 6-foot-4 forward Micah Hinrichs, Hastings turned the tide back in its favor even after Concordia had seemingly recovered from its listless offensive start. Down as many as 11 points in the first half, the Bulldogs put together a 12-0 run that began late in the first half and spilled into the second. The spurt was capped when Jaxon Stueve canned a triple, edging Concordia in front, 32-30. At the 16:39 mark, Brooks Kissinger slashed for two that made it a 34-33 Bulldog lead.
Concordia failed to find another bucket until the 7:42 mark. By that point, the Broncos had rattled off 22 straight and led 55-34. Hinrichs netted three of his six treys during that stretch and finished with a team-high 21 points. The disparity at the 3-point arc was the game’s most glaring difference – Hastings went 11-for-22 while the Bulldogs were 4-for-29. The home team started just 1-for-14 from the perimeter.
A late 11-3 run wasn’t enough to pull Concordia out of a 21-point hole. The Bulldogs finally found life when they went to full-court pressure. Kissinger attacked the basket for 15 of his game-high 22 points after the break. The Ashland, Neb., native also paced the team with seven rebounds in his 36 minutes. The only other Concordia player in double figures was Zac Kulus, who notched 10 points.
Hastings (5-14, 4-7 GPAC) managed to dictate a slowly paced, low possession game in which transition points were hard to come by. The Bronco trio of Hinrichs, Maverick Binder (18 points) and DaRon Hall (16 points) combined for 55 points. Hastings shot 50 percent (23-for-46) overall compared to 35.2 percent (19-for-54) shooting by the Bulldogs. Since the calendar flipped to 2026, the Broncos have gone 3-1 in league play with additional wins over Dordt and Waldorf.
Concordia will be tasked with regaining its offensive touch on the road. The Bulldogs were coming off a 72-64 grinder of a home victory over Briar Cliff this past Saturday.
Said Limback, “We’ve got to find other ways. The way they guard, they were collapsing in the paint. At that point, you’ve got to be able to make some shots. I liked our fight defensively. Second half, we trapped and got on a little bit of a run. Then they stepped up and hit a big 3 and put the game away. It’s not going to get easier.”
Up next will be a rare Sunday contest. The Bulldogs will be at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, S.D., for a 3:45 p.m. CT with Dakota Wesleyan (10-9, 5-6 GPAC). Concordia won this season’s first meeting with the Tigers, 103-71, in Seward on Dec. 6. In Wednesday's action, DWU defeated Waldorf at home, 83-70.