SEWARD, Neb. – This looked like Bulldog Basketball. In shaking off a tough previous week inside the GPAC, Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball found the gear that made it a nationally ranked team earlier this season. The Bulldogs sank 18 of their first 25 shots on Wednesday (Jan. 21) and toppled rival Midland, 104-82, inside Friedrich Arena. The result was a reversal of the meeting back in Fremont, where the Warriors won, 82-67.
Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad improved to 8-5 in conference play (14-7 overall) while attempting to separate itself from the hotly contested scramble of rivals jockeying for position.
“It was kind of a weird game with injuries,” Limback said. “They had some injuries coming in and then Dane (Jacobsen) goes down early. I’m really proud of our guys. Offensively, we had a number of guys in double figures. It was good to see Garret Johnson get going a little bit there. (Jaxon) Stueve was good tonight. Brooks (Kissinger) is doing what he needs to do. We got a lot of contributions. Garrett Grandgenett gets to ring the ball … It’s nice to see guys go in and come away with a big victory. We needed this one.”
Based on track records of Concordia’s individual talent, it was only a matter of time before it snapped back to its usual offensively potent self. The Warriors happened to catch the Bulldogs in a foul mood that gave them an edge. Separate second half spurts of 10-0 and 8-2 ballooned the Concordia lead to 87-65 with fewer than six-and-a-half minutes remaining. Suddenly ablaze, freshman Garret Johnson netted a trey apiece at the 10:52, 10:31 and 9:11 marks of the second stanza. A single digit spread had widened to 19 (82-63) in the blink of an eye.
What a difference a week made. Seven days after managing only 57 points in a stunning home loss to Hastings, the Bulldogs rode six double-figure scorers to their fourth 100-point outing of the season. The consistently reliable Brooks Kissinger reached 20 points (23 to be exact) for the 14th time this season while Jaxon Stueve collected a season-high 20 points of his own.
As a national tournament hopeful, Concordia couldn’t allow itself to fall for a third straight time. Said Stueve, “It was just being tougher. Defensively, we kind of got beat up (against Hastings and Dakota Wesleyan). It was about being tougher physically and mentally and not letting last week affect us this week.”
While shooting 57.6 percent (38-for-66) for the game, the Bulldogs were able to pick up the slack when Jacobsen went down early and did not return (finishing with three minutes played). Zac Kulus (14 points) equaled Johnson with four triples of his own. Johnson was one of three Concordia players to reach double figures off the bench as Hayden Frank posted 15 points and six rebounds and Jacob Duitsman added 12 points.
Defensively, the Bulldogs did a commendable job in limiting Midland (10-11, 6-7 GPAC) to 43.5 percent (27-for-62) shooting. The Warriors hung around into the second half with the help of 21-for-24 foul shooting. All-GPAC guard Jake Orr paced Midland with 25 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Butch Lordeus threw down an impressive one-hand dunk as a major highlight for the visitors. Notably, the Warriors played without standout post Jeff Rozelle.
Another key was Concordia’s mere six turnovers on the night. Said Limback, “We joked that we had two turnovers at halftime, and I think they were in the first minute of the game. We haven’t always been shooting or rebounding like we need to, but we haven’t been turning the ball over. Our guys are willing to pass and move and share the ball. I think that makes it easy to find the open man.”
The run of four home outings in a five-game stretch will continue on Saturday when the Bulldogs will welcome Dordt (11-9, 6-6 GPAC) to Friedrich Arena for a 3:45 p.m. CT tipoff. The Defenders took this season’s first meeting, 84-71, in Sioux Center, Iowa, on Dec. 13. Dordt had Wednesday night off.