HONOLULU, Hawaii – The Concordia University men’s basketball program has made its way to Hawaii for the first time since 2001. In their first of two games at the 2019 Malika Sports Tours Hoop N Surf Classic, the Bulldogs went cold in the second half and fell at the hands of MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.), 65-60, on Saturday (Dec. 21). All games in Hawaii are being held at The Shark Tank (home gym of Hawai’i Pacific University) in Honolulu.
Head coach Ben Limback’s squad has slipped up for the fourth-straight game. In the middle of its stay in Hawaii, Concordia has moved to 7-5 overall.
Things looked quite rosy at the close of the first half when the Bulldogs were the beneficiary of a trey apiece from Justin Wiersema and Carter Kent in the final 30 seconds before the break. At that point, Concordia enjoyed its largest advantage of the afternoon, 37-23. The Bulldogs held onto the lead all the way until the 4:52 mark of the second half.
The Pioneers (9-4), who defeated Hastings in Hawaii two days earlier, dug in and stifled Concordia in the second half. Over the final 20 minutes, the Bulldogs went 11-for-36 (.306) from the field, including 1-of-13 (.077) from 3-point range. In a tight game, Concordia’s 0-for-8 shooting from the foul line was a backbreaker.
The offensive struggles were compounded in the final few minutes. MidAmerica Nazarene’s Jake Alexander broke a 58-58 tie with a layup at the 2:54 mark and then added two free throws about a minute later. During that last 3:20, the lone Bulldog field goal came just before the buzzer when the game had already been salted away.
Shuck poured in a season high of 21 points while making 9-of-20 shots from the floor. Kent (11) and Ryan Holt (10) also reached double figures in scoring. Wiersema grabbed nine rebounds and Sammy Adjei and Chuol Biel hauled in eight boards apiece. Adjei also chipped in with six points.
MidAmerica Nazarene’s night was essentially the reverse from a statistical standpoint. The Pioneers shot 54.7 percent (13-for-24) from the field and the second half. Their free throw advantage proved critical. They knocked down 13-of-17 shots from the charity stipe over the final 20 minutes. Alexander and Dakota Quinn shared the team high with 15 points.
The Bulldogs will close out action at the Hoop N Surf Classic on Sunday. Tipoff versus Menlo College (Calif.) will be at 12 p.m. Hawaii time (4 p.m. CT). For live coverage of the game, check out the following link: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/hpusharks/.