Mustangs pull away for 80-54 win over Concordia

Morningside College controlled the second half and picked up an 80-54 GPAC men’s basketball win over Concordia on Saturday afternoon in Sioux City.  The Mustangs won their second straight to move to 12-8 overall (7-4 GPAC).  Concordia lost its third straight to fall to 8-10 overall and 4-7 in conference play. 

The Bulldogs led by as many as eight in the opening half.  The Mustangs used a 21-7 run to erase the Concordia lead, and Morningside took a 34-30 lead into halftime.  It didn’t take long for things to get out of hand in the second half, as the Mustangs built a double-digit lead (42-32) in the opening five minutes.  Concordia got a basket to pull within eight, but Morningside led by double figures the rest of the way.  The Mustangs poured it on and built the lead to 30 (80-50) before settling for the 26-point win. 

Morningside was a sizzling 29-of-56 (51.8 percent) from the field for the game.  The Mustangs went 9-of-19 (47.4 percent) from deep and 13-of-18 (72.2 percent) from the charity stripe.  Morningside had just 10 turnovers in the contest.  Strom Throne scored a game-high 19 points off the bench for the Mustangs.  Danny Rudeen added 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds. 

The Bulldogs struggled offensively in the loss, hitting just 20-of-62 shots (32.3 percent) while committing 21 turnovers.  Concordia was just 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) from deep.  Porter Birtell (Madison, Neb.) was the lone bright spot for the Bulldogs.  The junior had 18 points and 16 rebounds.  He was 7-of-11 from the field and 4-of-6 at the foul line. 

Concordia hosts Midland University on January 18.