HASTINGS, Neb. – Hot perimeter shooting in the first half allowed Hastings to hang tight before Tristan Smith and the 12th-ranked Concordia University Men’s Basketball team blew the game open after halftime. The Bulldogs stormed out of the break with a 15-2 run that helped propel them to a 94-71 victory inside Lynn Farrell Arena on Wednesday (Feb. 12). Smith powered in 24 points and led a group of five Concordia double-figure scorers in a return to the win column following this past weekend's loss at No. 16 Northwestern.
Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad has hit the 20-win mark (20-5, 13-4 GPAC) while earning a season sweep of the rival Broncos. Limback has led the program to five 20-win seasons during his tenure.
“They shot really well in the first half,” Limback said. “They hit some tough twos and started to make some threes and get in rhythm. Thankfully, offensively we were pretty good in the first half and were able to sustain some of that. The start to the second half, we were able to jump them and quickly extend it to a 15-point lead. Brad (Bennett) got it going and Tristan’s a load. Noah (Schutte) did some good things in the second half, and I was really pleased with our defense in the second half.”
Whatever hopes Hastings had of pulling the upset were stamped out quickly after halftime. Brad Bennett started the splurge with a trey. Roughly two minutes later, Noah Schutte splashed in a three of his own that pushed the lead to 53-40 and prompted a Bronco timeout. Concordia proceeded to continue scoring at will. It built a 20-point lead (65-45) by the 13:11 mark and then pushed the advantage to 29 (74-45) by the 11:39 mark. For the game, the Bulldogs shot a scintillating 56.5 percent from the floor.
Despite being whistled for two fouls in the game’s first 10 minutes, Smith piled up 20 points by halftime. For good measure, Smith threw down a late alley-oop dunk off a half-court pass from Zac Kulus. Smith made 10-of-11 shots from the foul line and added nine rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. Smith and Schutte (10 points and 12 rebounds) led the charge in the rebounding department, owned by the visitors by a count of 41-29.
Smith and Schutte were joined in double figures by Kulus (12), Elijah Gaeth (11) and Bennett (10). The freshman Gaeth dished out seven assists without committing a turnover. Meanwhile, Kulus was credited with four assists and four rebounds as part of one of his better outings this season. Off the bench, Dane Jacobsen chipped in with eight points and Brooks Kissinger supplied six.
Said Limback of Kulus, “He plays so hard and is so good offensively on the perimeter. Defensively, he’s really picked up his effort level and intensity. There was some good stuff out of that last group. Dane Jacobsen came in early and jumped in and kept us solid at the beginning. It was a team effort, especially in the second half.”
The 12 rebounds for Schutte on Wednesday moved his career total to 901, surpassing Gage Smith (899) for No. 2 on the program’s all-time rebound list. Schutte also continues to pad his school record point total, which stands at 2,226.
Hastings (3-21, 2-15 GPAC) got a team high 16 points from Christian Pujals. The Broncos fizzled in the second half (33.3 percent) and shot 41.3 percent overall. After going 8-for-13 from beyond the arc in the first half, Hastings made 5-of-15 from long range over the final 20 minutes.
The Bulldogs will return to Friedrich Arena on Saturday when Dakota Wesleyan (19-6, 12-5 GPAC) will make a visit to Seward. Tipoff is set for 3:45 p.m. CT. In this season’s first matchup contested at the Corn Palace, Concordia shot 67.3 percent and earned a 95-84 victory. In Wednesday’s action, the Tigers defended the home court, 99-90, while up against a hot Morningside squad.