SEWARD, Neb. – Two teams hopeful of claiming the GPAC regular season title battled to the wire on Saturday (Jan. 3) as conference play resumed. The star sophomore duo of visiting Northwestern nearly led the 17th-ranked Red Raiders all the way back from 14 points down, but the Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball team always had the answer. Brooks Kissinger and the Dawgs protected the home court, prevailing 85-82 in Seward.
Head Coach Ben Limback’s program has made Friedrich Arena a house of horrors for Northwestern, which has dropped nine straight trips. Concordia’s fourth straight win moved its record to 12-4 overall (6-2 GPAC).
“Thankfully we had that big lead in the first half,” Limback said. “We knew they weren’t going to go away. They’re too good offensively. I was so proud of our guys. We didn’t play a good offense in the second half. We got a little too reliant on Brooks, a little stagnant, but I love the fight. (Jacob) Duitsman hit a big three and had a nice dunk. We had some nice finishes … This was a huge win to protect your home court. That’s a really good basketball team we just beat there.”
The Bulldogs countered the star power of Jalen Langsy and Jesse Van Kalsbeek with five double-figure scorers. Kissinger led all players with 29 points (two shy of a career-high) while routinely scoring in isolation situations. His most significant bucket came in the final minute when he sank a spinning, heavily guarded shot in the lane, boosting his side’s lead to 81-78. Northwestern got back within one in the closing seconds before Dane Jacobsen drained two free throws and Hayden Frank stole the ball just before the final buzzer.
Both teams enjoyed their moments. Concordia outscored the Red Raiders, 47-25, over the last 14-and-a-half minutes of the opening half and led, 51-37, at the break. But Northwestern (13-4, 5-4 GPAC) made a charge by shooting 57.1 percent (16-for-28) in the second half. Langsy dropped in 17 of his team-high 27 points in the second half. Van Kalsbeek posted another double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds.
The Bulldogs shot only 39.3 percent (11-for-28) from the floor in the second half but found ways to sprinkle in key plays to keep the Raiders at bay. Among the highlights, Jacobsen came up with a hustle steal in the press in the middle of the half, Duitsman threw down a slam off a nifty dish from Frank and Logan Wilson banked in a trey to nudge the lead back to seven (74-67).
And whenever Concordia needed a tough bucket, it let Kissinger go to work. The Ashland, Neb., native made 11-of-16 shots from the floor while frequently met in the paint by Van Kalsbeek. Thanks in part to Kissinger’s rise to stardom, the Bulldogs have earned a season sweep of Northwestern and have kept pace near the top of the league standings.
Said Kissinger, “It’s a huge confidence builder coming in knowing that Northwestern is a really good team, really sound defensively and really powerful offensively. Being able to sweep them in the regular season is a huge confidence builder going into a tough game on the road … My teammates do a great job letting me play through my skills and abilities that I have.”
Kissinger was followed in the scoring column by teammates in Zac Kulus (12), Wilson (12), Duitsman (11) and Jacobsen (10). Stueve added eight points, five rebounds and four steals. He often drew the assignment of bodying up Van Kalsbeek. Concordia’s lineup is especially guard heavy in the absence of Tate Odvody (who also missed the two wins earlier this week in Joliet, Ill.).
Said Limback, “I thought we did a great job on Van Kalsbeek in the first half. I mean, he scores. You can’t stop him from scoring. You have to make it hard … Once (Langsy) gets going with Van Kalsbeek, it’s a long night. We switched to a zone to try to shake things up. I thought it made them a little more stagnant. You can’t stop them. You have to score with them.”
A pivotal stretch of conference play continues on Wednesday when the Bulldogs will be headed to Sioux City, Iowa, for a matchup with Morningside (10-5, 7-1 GPAC). Tipoff is slated for 7:45 p.m. CT from the Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center in what will be rematch of the 2025 GPAC Championship Game. In Saturday’s action, the Mustangs cruised at Mount Marty, 76-54.