SEWARD, Neb. – A 14-2 run, punctuated by two Brooks Kissinger alley-oop dunks, out of the gates provided the Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball team a sizeable lead it never looked back from in Saturday (Nov. 15)’s GPAC opener. The Bulldogs shot 57.6 percent from the floor while routing Waldorf, 95-67, inside Friedrich Arena. Both Brooks Kissinger and Dane Jacobsen recorded double-doubles in the win.
Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad has won three straight at home to move to 4-2 overall in 2025-26. Despite the lopsided final score, Limback came away believing his squad is capable of putting together a more complete 40 minutes.
“I thought we had a great start to the game, and we knew that would be a key,” Limback said. “When you start a GPAC season, everybody’s hungry and everyone has the same goals. After that start, I thought we coasted a little bit. I didn’t like our offense as much in the first half. We were trying to force some things and didn’t finish some layups. Transition was there all game. They definitely turned it up in the second half too. Tate Odvody had a great game and Dane Jacobsen – I can’t say enough about that kid. He makes us so good offensively and got timely buckets when they started to go on a run.”
As a credit to Waldorf, it weathered the rough start and hung around. The Warriors pulled within 10 (63-53) in the middle of the second half before Concordia sprung back to life. The Bulldogs outscored Waldorf 32-14 the rest of the way. Logan Wilson opened the surge with a triple. By the 6:30 mark of the second half, Concordia had ballooned the lead to 20 (78-58).
The firepower of the Bulldogs proved too much. With Jacobsen steering the ship, Concordia is at its best when on the run. Jacobsen totaled 17 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and three steals in 27 minutes. A blossoming junior, Kissinger went for a game-high 22 points to go with 10 rebounds. In other starring performances, Jaxon Stueve (19 points, nine rebounds and three assists) just missed a double-double and Odvody notched 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Off the bench, Garret Johnson canned three treys and swiped five rebounds and two steals.
The Warriors (3-5, 0-1 GPAC) have improved under first-year Head Coach Michael Wirth. Waldorf placed four players in double figures on Saturday, led by 16 points from Conner Aldridge. One of the best stretches for the Warriors came late in the first half when they climbed back within five (36-31). They simply didn’t have enough to keep up while shooting only 42.4 percent overall. They also turned it over 17 times and were outrebounded by the Bulldogs, 40-29.
After boasting one of the better frontcourts in the nation in recent years, Concordia has transitioned to more of a guard-oriented squad with Kissinger averaging 18.2 points through his first five outings this season.
Said Limback of Kissinger, “He’s going to be a marked man. He’s going to be somebody that gets double teams and gets collapsed on. He’s got to make those extra passes. I thought Stueve played well offensively. Being able to make those reads will make us a balanced team and even more dangerous. The goals of this team are aggressive goals. We have to understand how good we need to be each moment of the game.”
The Bulldogs will take advantage of an early bye in the GPAC schedule to play NCAA Division I University of Nebraska Omaha on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT from Baxter Arena in Omaha. The contest will go down as an exhibition for Concordia. The Mavericks are coming off an NCAA Championship tournament appearance in 2024-25.