SEWARD, Neb. – Coming off a heartbreaker on the road at Hastings, the Bulldogs looked to find their groove against a familiar conference foe on Saturday (Jan. 20). With fans dressed in white at Friedrich Arena, Concordia bolted on a 22-1 run, behind four Zac Kulus treys, to set up an 87-82 win over Briar Cliff. The Dawgs were up one, with 44 seconds to play and the Chargers missed late from the charity stripe, forcing the visitors to foul. Noah Schutte and Brad Bennett delivered game-ending free throws, stamping a sweep over BCU this season. Bennett led the team with 20 points, as Tristian Smith (17) and Schutte (15) contributed double digits in the GPAC showdown. Schutte has now eclipsed the 1,500-point mark, totaling 1,513 in his career. He is the 10th Bulldog to accomplish the feat.
The Bulldogs have won three of their last four games totaling a 12-5 overall record and 7-4 in the conference. Head Coach Ben Limback commented on the huge 22-1 second half run and big plays in the final minutes.
“It was a fun basketball game. I’m so proud of Zac. He has struggled with confidence shooting and this was a game that we needed him. He played well at their place and he single-handedly had a nice run for us. Got us going and gave us the spark that we needed in that moment. Down the stretch, there were a lot of guys. Brad Bennett and Noah Schutte made some big plays and huge free throws.”
After back and forth scoring drives in the first half, Briar Cliff had a 56-47 lead with 14:05 remaining until snatching a road win. For the next five minutes, the Dawgs drowned the opposing offense, allowing only one point in the on slot. Garnering more minutes in the final quarter of the bout, Kulus hit a hot streak (4-of-4 3-pt) from deep to help vanquish the nine point deficit.
Kulus said, “It feels amazing to finally find my rhythm again. I have been struggling throughout this year, but tonight it was going in the hole. Coach plays a lot of guys and we needed a spark when he put me and Hayden in the game for that period of time. Teammates were just finding me and I found my groove finally.”
Schutte, stuffed the stat sheet, assisting all four 3-pointers, having eight (career-high) total and seven rebounds in the contest. Smith owned a big portion of the glass on the afternoon, one shy (nine) of a double-double adding three assists, two steals and a block.
With a 12 point lead, Matthew Stillwill and company answered with an 18-5 run, taking the lead with under five minutes to go. Smith and Bennett gained big points in the final minutes, with the Elkhorn, Neb., product, scoring seven straight for the Bulldogs. Bennett and Schutte showed nerves of steel draining two from the free throw line, sealing a home win. Jaxon Stueve earned his second career start through his everlasting tenacity and showed promise with 11 points, four steals, two assists and one block. The Bulldogs went 7-of-7 from the charity stripe in the second half and 83 percent (15-of-18) in the game.
Stillwill led the Chargers ( 10-8, 4-6 GPAC) with 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. Quinn Vesey (18), Wil Lugar (11) and Blake Sindelar (10) were all in double-digits. Briar Cliff shot 52 percent (29-of-56) from the field and 43 percent (12-of-28) from beyond the arc.
Concordia (12-5, 7-4 GPAC) will need to focus on hosting midweek (Jan. 24) opponent Mount Marty (9-19, 5-15 GPAC), before traveling to the 71st annual CIT the following weekend. Tip-off is set for 7:45 p.m. CT in Seward, Neb. The Dawgs defeated the Lancers, 82-54, earlier this season in Yankton.