OMAHA, Neb. – Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball gave NCAA Division I University of Nebraska Omaha plenty of fits on Wednesday (Nov. 19) inside Baxter Arena. The Bulldogs enjoyed a lead as large as seven points in the first half and held an advantage for nearly 14 minutes of game time. Eventually, the 2025 NCAA tournament qualifying Mavericks wrestled away control and earned the 96-80 home victory. Concordia’s Brooks Kissinger led all players with 26 points.
Officially, the contest goes down as an exhibition for Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad. The Bulldogs sit at 4-2 overall in the early going of the 2025-26 campaign.
At the under-four-minute media timeout, Concordia still felt like it had a puncher’s chance. A 7-0 Bulldog run that began with a Garret Johnson trey slashed the deficit from 14 to seven (82-75) at the 3:57 mark. Omaha proceeded to close the game on a 14-5 run and survived the scare in front of 2,139 fans. Offensively, Concordia went toe-to-toe with the Mavericks in shooting 47.5 percent (28-for-59) from the floor compared to 53.8 percent (36-for-55) from its opponent.
A hot start to his junior season continues for Kissinger. The Ashland native and his teammates effectively got out in transition on Wednesday. Kissinger made 9-of-13 shots from the floor and 7-of-8 attempts from the foul line. Strong nights were also turned in by the likes of Tate Odvody (18 points) and Dane Jacobsen (15 points, six assists and five rebounds). It was an Odvody basket that trimmed the deficit to seven in the final four minutes.
Omaha got a career-high 24 points from Ja’Sean Glover and 21 points from Lance Waddles. Despite their size advantage, the Mavs held only a slight advantage on the boards, 32-30. Perimeter shooting (13-for-31 from 3-point range) helped Omaha avoid being tripped up by the Bulldogs.
Up next, Concordia will return to conference play on Saturday with a trip to No. 3 Northwestern (7-1, 1-1 GPAC). Tipoff is set for 6:45 p.m. CT from the Bultman Center. In last season’s meetings, the Bulldogs won two of three over the Red Raiders (with the home team winning in all three instances).