Kent eclipses milestone, Bulldogs solve Morningside puzzle

By Jacob Knabel on Jan. 19, 2022 in Men's Basketball

SEWARD, Neb. – The current group of four- and five-year players have checked off so many boxes during their careers with Concordia University Men’s Basketball. At long last, the 25th-ranked Bulldogs have conquered Morningside. Carter Kent and company shot 59.6 percent from the floor on Wednesday (Jan. 19) while exerting control of the action in an 83-68 victory over the visiting Mustangs.

Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad boosted the program home win streak to 14 while pushing the overall season record to 17-4 (10-3 GPAC). Every opposing GPAC men’s basketball program has now dropped its most recent trip to Friedrich Arena.

“I was pleased with how we started the game and our energy throughout the game,” Limback said. “Carter continues to be huge. I thought Gage (Smith) was really good today and Justin (Wiersema) hit some big shots for us. Certainly defensively is where we hung our hat tonight. They shook it up by playing a small lineup (in Trey Brown’s absence), pressing and doing different things. I thought we did a good job of playing through that.”

This was an important hurdle for Concordia, which had not beaten Morningside in any of the previous 12 meetings. Down one of the league’s best big men, the Mustangs showed resilience in shaking off a rough start, but the Bulldogs were in control for the vast majority of the night. With Kent and Smith both reaching the 20-point mark, Concordia built a lead as large as 21 (60-39) in the middle of the second half and put it on cruise control. Morningside couldn’t muster much offensively outside of Aidan Vanderloo’s 20 points.

It didn’t take long for Kent to reach a milestone. He entered the night needing three points for 1,500 in his career and collected a game high 25 points on 7-for-15 shooting from the floor (8-for-10 from the foul line). Smith backed him up with a double-double (20 points and 11 rebounds) and Wiersema was good for his usual end-to-end tenacity. He posted 13 points, five rebounds and three assists.

It didn’t matter that the Bulldogs had just come off the high of an 82-79 win at No. 11 Jamestown, they were going to be ready for this one. Said Smith, “Since I’ve been here we hadn’t beaten Morningside, so this one felt really good. The bond we have with each other is unbreakable. I’ve never been part of a team like this. We love each other and trust each other. We play together – and that’s Concordia Basketball.”

Morningside (10-7, 7-5 GPAC) had just come off a 72-71 overtime loss to Doane and has gone 3-6 since a 7-1 start. The Mustangs still have a dangerous team with plenty of veterans used to winning. The Bulldogs limited the potent visitors to 39.1 percent (27-for-69) shooting from the floor. Vanderloo and Trey Powers (11) were the only Morningside players to reach double figures.

In addition to shooting it well, Concordia held a 41-27 advantage on the boards. The only real negative was a minus-nine turnover margin. AJ Watson chipped in with eight points, six assists and six rebounds. Off the bench, Garrett Seagren made all three attempts from the floor and notched six points.

“There’s no rest right now, and I think our guys are ready for these,” Limback said. “We wanted these games. Now is when we start to see some of our young guys emerge – Tristan (Smith) was good tonight. They’re ready to go to Orange City.”

The aim now is to come away with an impressive GPAC road win for the second weekend in a row. The Bulldogs will be at Northwestern (16-6, 8-4 GPAC) for a 3:45 p.m. CT tipoff in Orange City, Iowa, on Saturday. Concordia won this season’s first meeting, 95-78, on Dec. 4 and moved its series win streak to six over the Red Raiders. On Wednesday, Northwestern fell at Briar Cliff, 81-69.