SEWARD, Neb. – The locomotive that is the Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball team steamed through Waldorf like a mere speed bump on Saturday (Feb. 1). The 13th-ranked Bulldogs made 17 of their first 23 shots from the floor while leaving the Warriors in the dust, 97-63, inside Friedrich Arena. Concordia shot 58.1 percent overall and turned it over just six times while winning for the 54th time over its past 59 home games.
Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad (19-4, 12-3 GPAC) kept pace near the top of the league standings thanks to its 12th-straight victory. Only one of those wins has been decided by a single-digit margin.
“I thought we guarded well. Any time our defense can lead to the offensive end (it’s a good thing),” Limback said. “Our starters did a great job setting the tone. Tristan (Smith) and Noah (Schutte) continue to do what they’re doing, and I thought Jaxon Stueve defensively was excellent. How about that first half from Brooks Kissinger, even before that buzzer beater. He was dialed in.”
Like many of their recent games, the Bulldogs took the air out of it early by mounting a sizable lead. Tristan Smith got going early with a steal and transition dunk that made it 14-2 just over five minutes into action. The lead remained in double digits the rest of the way as Concordia essentially did what it sought out to do at the offensive end. Brooks Kissinger helped extend the lead at the close of the first half with an emphatic dunk over a defender and a logo trey to beat the buzzer.
The efficiency of the Bulldogs’ four double-figure scorers proved remarkable. Kissinger went 8-for-10 from the floor for 21 points, Schutte went 8-for-9 for 20 points, Smith went 5-for-5 for 14 points and Stueve went 3-for-4 for 10 points. Smith entered the game leading the GPAC in field goal percentage with a clip of better than 70 percent. By the end of the contest, the Elizabeth, Colo., native passed his older brother Gage for 15th on the program’s all-time scoring list.
On the other end, Concordia was just as effective. Waldorf (3-19, 2-13 GPAC) shot only 38.3 percent from the floor and turned it over 18 times. The lockdown efforts of the 6-foot-4 Stueve continue to draw praise from Limback. No Warrior player had more than 11 points (Cartier Parr) inside a house of horrors for the opposition. The only real surprise was that Waldorf managed to play the Bulldogs even on the boards, 35-35.
With Hayden Frank sidelined on Saturday, freshman Elijah Gaeth made his first career start as a Bulldog. He posted seven points, four rebounds and four assists with no turnovers in 19 minutes. Zac Kulus also added nine points off the bench and Tony Tubrick knocked down a late corner triple to put a cherry on top. Simmering hot Concordia remains one game behind first-place Dordt atop the GPAC.
Said Limback, “This team’s dialed in. It’s fun to coach right now because they’re just an unselfish group. They play hard, they’re having fun and it was good to see that happen today. When guys are moving the ball and not thinking about scoring every time, the shots will find you. When we’re getting our defense leading to offense, it’s a lot easier to score in transition.”
The Bulldogs will have the middle of this coming week off while looking ahead to next Saturday (Feb. 8)’s trip to Orange City, Iowa, for a showdown with No. 16 Northwestern (20-3, 12-3 GPAC). Tipoff from the Bultman Center is slated for 3:45 p.m. CT. In the meeting that took place in Seward on Jan. 18, Concordia won by an 85-70 score with the help of 17 points and 15 rebounds from Smith.