SEWARD, Neb. – The Concordia men’s basketball team will travel to Briar Cliff this weekend to close out its regular season. The Bulldogs and Chargers will tipoff at 4 p.m. in Sioux City, Iowa.
GAME INFO
Concordia (18-10, 10-9 GPAC) at No. 6 Briar Cliff (25-3, 16-2 GPAC)
Saturday, Feb. 20 | 4 p.m.
Site: Walz Arena | Seward, Neb.
Webcast: Charger Sports Network
Live Stats: Dakstats
Radio: 104.9 Max Country
Last time out
The Concordia’s men team swept its GPAC opponents last week. On Wednesday, the Bulldogs defeated Midland University, 91-85 inside Walz Arena. Jamie Pearson and Chandler Folkerts combined for 54 points in the game. Then on Saturday, the ‘Dogs won over Northwestern, 110-89 on their senior day.
Quotable
“We had a lot of good contributions from a lot of guys. Obviously we made a lot of shots and were hot from three tonight, which is great. I feel like everybody was just feeding off of each other. It was senior day so I know there were a lot of guys that wanted to make sure the seniors went out with a good win.”
-Head coach Ben Limback
National notes
The Bulldogs rank in over 15 statistical categories in the NAIA Division II, including fifth in total blocks (130) and field goal percentage (.507), sixth in blocks per game (4.64) and ninth in total scoring offense (2,408).
Below is a list of individual rankings in the nation.
Chandler Folkerts – field goal percentage, second (.673); total scoring, 15th (563); total rebounds, 16th (238); points per game, 25th (20.11); defensive rebounds per game, 27th (6.21); total rebounds per game, 30th (8.50); total blocks, 31st (38); blocks per game, 41st (1.36)
Jamie Pearson – free throw percentage, 23rd (.835); total scoring, 40th (499); points per game, 41st (18.48)
Robby Thomas – total blocks, second (66); blocks per game, sixth (2.36)
Eli Ziegler – total 3-point field goals made, 43rd (67)
GPAC grade
Concordia currently sits fifth in the GPAC standings. In the conference, the Bulldogs lead in field goal percentage offense (.507), field goal percentage defense (.431), total blocks (130) and blocks per game (4.64), rank second in scoring margin (7.29) and defensive rebounds per game (29.25) and rank third in scoring offense (2,408), scoring defense per game (78.71), free throw percentage (.750), total rebound offense (1,077), total rebound defense per game (34.36) and total assists (458).
Below is a list of individual rankings in the GPAC.
Chandler Folkerts – points per game, fourth (20.11); total scoring, third (563); field goal percentage, first (.673); total rebounds per game, third (8.50); total rebounds, first (238); offensive rebounds per game, fifth (2.29); defensive rebounds per game, third (6.21); blocks per game, third (1.36); total blocks, third (38); double-doubles, first (12); single-game high rebounding, tied for 10th (15)
Jamie Pearson – points per game, seventh (18.48); total scoring, seventh (499); field goal percentage, ninth (.500); free throw percentage, fourth (.835); assists per game, seventh (3.78); total assists, seventh (102); single-game high scoring, tied for seventh (37) and tied for 10th twice (36)
Robby Thomas – total rebounds per game, 10th (6.43); total rebounds, 10th (180); defensive rebounds per game, seventh (5.39); blocks per game, first (2.36); total blocks, first (66)
Eli Ziegler – 3-point field goal percentage, ninth (.409); 3-point field goals made per game, sixth (2.39); 3-point field goals made, sixth (67)
Seeing double
So far this season, Concordia has had two Bulldogs record at least one double-double game, including 12 total for Chandler Folkerts.
C. Folkerts – 26 points, 13 rebounds vs Bellevue on Nov. 6
R. Thomas – 12 points, 11 rebounds vs Bellevue on Nov. 6
C. Folkerts – 11 points, 10 rebounds at Hastings on Nov. 18
R. Thomas – 13 points, 10 rebounds at Doane on No. 24
C. Folkerts – 33 points, 13 rebounds at Dordt on Dec. 18
C. Folkerts – 21 points, 15 rebounds vs Briar Cliff on Jan. 2
C. Folkerts – 24 points, 10 rebounds at Midland on Jan. 6
C. Folkerts – 34 points, 14 rebounds at Northwestern on Jan. 9
C. Folkerts – 14 points, 11 rebounds at York on Jan. 13
C. Folkerts – 23 points, 11 rebounds vs Dakota Wesleyan on Jan. 16
C. Folkerts – 27 points, 11 rebounds vs Hastings on Jan. 20
C. Folkerts – 21 points, 11 rebounds vs Concordia-Ann Arbor on Jan. 29
C. Folkerts – 27 points, 14 rebounds vs Nebraska Wesleyan on Feb. 3
C. Folkerts – 26 points, 11 rebounds vs Northwestern on Feb. 13
Scouting the No. 6 Briar Cliff Chargers
The sixth-ranked Chargers of Briar Cliff hold a 25-3 overall record and a 16-2 mark in the GPAC. Briar Cliff will face Morningside on Wednesday before hosting the Bulldogs on Saturday. Previously this season the Chargers took a 90-82 victory from the Bulldogs inside Walz Arena. Briar Cliff was won 21 of its past 22 contests. As a team, the Chargers average 95.6 points and 37.5 rebounds per game. The team shoots .494 from the field and .393 from 3-point range. Clay Harreld leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.0 points a game. The Chargers are led by head coach Nic Nelson who is in his fifth season at Briar Cliff. Nelson is assisted by Mark Svagera, Ron Schultz, Zach McCabe, Kory Hobbs, Jarod Mau and Chris Schmidt.
Up next for the Bulldogs
The regular season for the Concordia men’s basketball team closes out after the contest with Briar Cliff on Saturday. The GPAC tournament will begin Wednesday, Feb. 24. Location and opponents will be announced after Saturday’s contests. Details will be announced on website and on the Bulldog Twitter account, @cunebulldogs.