SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The road has been unkind for much of GPAC play. Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball was held to more than 10 points below its season scoring average on Saturday (Feb. 14) and was tripped up by Briar Cliff, 80-72, in Sioux City, Iowa. In giving the Bulldogs a fighting chance, Brooks Kissinger reached the 30-point mark for a second straight outing.
Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad slipped to 16-10 overall (10-8 GPAC). Concordia stands in fourth place in the league standings heading into the regular season’s final week.
“It’s kind of a mystery. We felt like, in the locker room, we should have been up (at halftime) if we approached the game the way we should approach it,” Limback said. “We saw it in the second half. It shouldn’t be surprising when you go on the road. It’s senior night. We talked about how important this game was going to be to Briar Cliff. The communication defensively in the second half is why we were able to get stops. There has to be better leadership from the start, top-down.”
As Limback relayed in his postgame comments, Concordia’s performance on the defensive side was lacking on Saturday. The Chargers celebrated their senior class by shooting 55.3 percent (26-for-47) from the floor while making 11-of-24 (.458) tries from 3-point range. A 20-point, 11-rebound effort from Blake Sindelar helped Briar Cliff overcome its 18 turnovers.
Despite digging a 46-31 halftime deficit, the Bulldogs had their shot in the second half. They climbed within two (61-59) when Zac Kulus dropped in a trey at the 6:52 mark. Sindelar then went to work with seven points during the proceeding 9-0 Charger run that pushed margin back to double figures (70-59). Concordia never got closer than seven points the rest of the way as Briar Cliff put the contest on ice at the foul line.
The tear continues for Kissinger, who racked up 32 points (13-for-21 from the floor) and six rebounds in 33 minutes on Saturday. The only other double-figure scorer for the visitors was freshman Jacob Duitsman, who notched 10 points on the strength of 4-for-5 shooting. Jaxon Stueve added eight points and three steals. As a team, the Bulldogs shot 45.0 percent (27-for-60) from the floor and went only 7-for-26 (.269) from beyond the arc.
Briar Cliff (13-13, 10-9 GPAC) ended what had been an eight-game series losing streak to Concordia. All five Charger starters tallied at least 12 points. Will Lugar (15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists) came up just shy of a triple-double. The result means the Bulldogs have dropped six of their past seven GPAC road games.
Said Limback, “This team offensively can be whatever it wants. I think we were worried about our offense not being there and it affected us on the defensive side … We have to understand the importance of every game. You felt that against Morningside at home. This team will bounce back. It’s a high character group of young men.”
The regular season home finale is up next. The Bulldogs will welcome Mount Marty (14-10, 12-7 GPAC) to Friedrich Arena for a 7:45 p.m. CT tipoff on Wednesday. Prior to the game, Concordia will honor a group or four seniors, which includes MJ Coffee, Tyler Harre, Zac Kulus and Logan Wilson. The Lancers sit alone in third place in the GPAC following Saturday’s 88-76 home win over Dakota Wesleyan.