Concordia shuts down Midland University for sixth straight win

The Concordia University men’s basketball team improved to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play with a 69-53 win over Midland University on Tuesday evening in Fremont.  The Bulldogs used balanced scoring and a suffocating defense to pull away for the easy victory.  Midland dropped to 2-6 overall and 0-2 in the GPAC with the loss. 

Concordia jumped out to a big lead in the opening minutes of the game.  Barrett Braun (Lakeside, Calif.) hit a jumper to open the scoring.  Tyler Byrd (Bennington, Neb.) followed with a 3-pointer to push the lead to 5-0.  Ryan Shrum (Allen, Texas) then hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and Concordia grabbed an 11-0 lead. 

The Bulldogs led by as many as 19 (25-6) in the opening half before Midland cut into the lead.  The Warriors trimmed the lead down to seven (28-21) with just over three minutes remaining in the first half.  Three made free throws by Sam Huebner (Aurora, Colo.) gave Concordia a 31-21 lead heading into halftime. 

Early in the second half, Midland rallied to within six at 34-28 before Concordia went on another run.  The Bulldogs used a key 18-7 run to take a 52-35 lead with just over 12 minutes remaining.  Concordia cruised the rest of the way and led by as many as 24 on multiple occasions down the stretch. 

Concordia was 20-of-46 (43.5 percent) from the field in the win.  The Bulldogs were 8-of-22 (36.4 percent) from long range and 21-of-29 (72.4 percent) from the foul line.  Concordia held a 43-37 rebounding advantage. 

Byrd, this week’s GPAC Player-of-the-Week, scored a game-high 18 points to lead the way offensively for the Bulldogs.  The junior was 6-of-12 from the field, 3-of-7 from 3-point land and 3-of-4 at the foul line.  Huebner added a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.  Huebner was a perfect 3-of-3 from the field and 9-of-12 at the foul line on the night.  Shrum chipped in with 14 points and seven rebounds. 

The Bulldog defense was solid once again.  Midland University was just 18-of-65 (27.7 percent) from the field.  The Warriors hit just 8-of-35 shots in the first half for 22.9 percent.  Midland connected on just 5-of-23 from deep for 21.7 percent. 

Marcus Messersmith scored 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting to pace Midland University.  Zach Rosenboom added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Warriors. 

Concordia travels to Doane College on December 1 for an 8 pm matchup against the Tigers.