SEWARD, Neb. – Just like the first meeting in Mitchell, S.D., the 12th-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball team won this one while carving up a Dakota Wesleyan team likely to be included in the national tournament field. The Bulldogs shot 64.2 percent from the floor on Saturday (Feb. 15) and pulled away from the Tigers, 91-76, inside Friedrich Arena. The always reliable Noah Schutte and Tristan Smith both poured in 20 points and Brooks Kissinger starred off the bench.
Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad (21-5, 14-4 GPAC) kept pace in its bid to maintain a top two spot in the GPAC standings. As a program, Concordia improved to 55-5 over its last 60 home games.
“We had a really, really good spurt in the second half,” Limback said. “The first half was solid. I thought they outplayed us in the second half on the glass, and that kept them in the game. Tristan and Noah were un-guardable. Offensively, we shot 64 percent and took care of the ball better in the second half. Our message was we didn’t put together a full 40. That’s going to be our goal. We also beat a team that’s having a really good year. Great win, but I think there is more that we could have done.”
There were slow starts to both halves for the Bulldogs, but score-at-will stretches covered up such momentary lapses. Concordia went on a 17-2 run in the first half (to lead 24-14) and a 23-8 surge in the second half (to lead 81-61). Schutte notched 13 of his 21 points in the first 20 minutes and Kissinger tallied 11 of his 15 in the opening half. After the break, Smith collected 14 of his game-high 23 points in another sterling outing. Smith added eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals to his stat line.
The depth for the Bulldogs has been impressive, especially considering the Bulldogs continued to play without Hayden Frank and Lukas Helms. Kissinger supplied the energy off the bench, igniting the crowd with two offensive boards and a put-back on one possession and a two-handed dunk later on.
“It was just a team effort,” Kissinger said. “Tristan and Noah did a great job of getting down hill and finding me on cuts. Everybody else was screening and rebounding. It was just a good team effort today.”
The trio or Schutte (7-for-9), Smith (11-for-15) and Kissinger (7-for-9) combined to go 25-for-33 from the floor. In supporting roles, Jaxon Stueve registered eight points and four rebounds, Brad Bennett totaled seven points and Elijah Gaeth recorded six points and four assists. Gaeth made his fourth-straight start. As a team, the Bulldogs made 9-of-17 (.529) attempts from 3-point range and narrowly won the rebound battle, 32-29.
Dakota Wesleyan (19-7, 12-6 GPAC) saw its seven-game GPAC winning streak snapped. The Tigers placed four of their five starts in double figures, led by 14 points from Tampa Scott. Randy Rosenquist Jr. added 13 points. DWU shot 45.3 percent (29-for-64) overall and turned it over only seven times (compared to 12 by Concordia). The Tigers were coming off a home win over Morningside on Wednesday.
Said Limback, “The outcome was what we wanted. It’s a big game where we’re fighting for home court and hopefully have a chance to host a couple of games in the GPAC tournament. We want to continue to climb and get better and better.”
As part of the final week of the regular season, the Bulldogs will welcome rival Doane (9-17, 4-14 GPAC) to Friedrich Arena for a 7:45 p.m. CT tipoff on Wednesday. Concordia won this season’s meeting in Crete, 81-60, and has triumphed in each of the past six series matchups. In Saturday's action, the Tigers were defeated at home, 99-93, in overtime by No. 7 Dordt. The Defenders remain in the driver’s seat atop the GPAC with a 16-2 league mark. As part of Wednesday night's festivities, the Bulldogs will honor their senior class.