SEWARD, Neb. – The Cattle Classic rolled along on day two with the Concordia men’s basketball team capping the tournament in a clash against 19th-ranked William Penn University. After a tight knitted single point differential at halftime, the Dawgs slammed shut any chance of a comeback for the Statesmen in the 103-74 route. Noah Schutte and company shot over 47 percent from three in the second half and collected 30 total points from the charity stripe on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 4). All-Cattle Classic Schutte led the team with 26 points, with Brooks Kissinger garnering 16 in his second collegiate game.
Head Coach Ben Limback commented on the improved second half and getting to the free throw line.
“I thought we shot the ball a lot better in the second half. Noah Schutte had a great weekend. He constantly puts us in a good position offensively. Our young guys started to come in, do some good things, and the ball was moving better. We have competitive practices, and our new guys want to get in there and show what they can do. We had thirteen separate guys score for us. They (William Penn) were really great at pressuring the ball and that really bothered us in the first half. We have the ability to take the right angles and be strong with the ball, and it is a goal of ours to get to the free throw line for free points. It was a great test for us this weekend and proud of our team effort there.”
At the halftime break with a 44-43 lead, Concordia came out swinging, sinking three shots from behind the arc by Schutte (two) and Joel Baker (one) on their way to a 13-6 run in the opening minutes. The maverick Schutte added to his stat totals in that time, finishing with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Up 57-53, All-Cattle Classic Tristan Smith put in work on the block, making five of his 12 points in the 13-1 scoring drive in front of Bulldog Nation.
A minute later, Kissinger turned on the heat, hitting two back to back buckets and drove into the paint to collect two free points at the line. The freshman went to the line six times of the home squad’s 41 chances, as the team lived inside the bonus seemingly the entire match. The product out of Ashland, Neb., had a big Cattle Classic weekend opening his collegiate career with two double dight performances and has shown comfortability bringing the ball down the floor.
The bench Bulldogs came roaring into the match in the second half and did not disappoint, outscoring the other sidelined opponents 48-16. With a 95-69 lead, Brayson Mueller, Hayden Frank and Brandt Van Dyke all got their piece of the pie from three to seal the dominant triple digit win over William Penn.
The Dawgs (2-0) will enjoy a week to prepare before taking the show on the road to a 1-1 Benedictine College (Kan.) on Saturday (Nov. 11). Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. CT in Atchison, Kan. The Ravens went 12-17 last year, ending their season in a Heart of America Conference quarterfinal loss (90-88) versus William Penn. The last time Concordia and Benedictine stepped on the hardwood was in the 2021 Cattle Classic with the advantage going to the Bulldogs in a 68-53 win.
All-Cattle Classic Men’s TeamThomas Gieske, Mayville StateNoah Schutte, ConcordiaTristan Smith, ConcordiaShug Sneed, William PennReggie Thomas, Hastings