YANKTON, S.D. – The two sides traded blows until an 11-0 run in the middle of the second half put Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball in control. Thanks to balanced scoring and the rebounding of Logan Wilson, the Bulldogs got out of Yankton, S.D., an 84-75 winner over Mount Marty on Tuesday (Nov. 25). Concordia maintained a lead of at least seven points over the entirety of the game’s final 11 minutes.
Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad has won back-to-back GPAC road games and will ride a five-game winning streak into the holiday weekend. The Bulldogs have started 3-0 in league play for the first time since the 2022-23 season.
“We knew this was going to be a battle,” Limback said. “They’ve been playing some teams really tough and have some good home wins. They’re well-coached and very disciplined defensively. First half, we made some good runs but it wasn’t something we could sustain all the time … Thankfully we guarded well enough to get through that. Second half, (Garret) Johnson got going and I thought Jaxon (Stueve) and Brooks (Kissinger) had some timely buckets. I was pleased with our second half.”
Life on the road within the GPAC is rarely a picnic. In this contest, Concordia led by just two (35-33) at the break and trailed by a point (50-49) with just under 12 minutes to play. That’s when the 11-0 run kicked in as the Bulldogs began to get loose in transition. The surge included a Stueve steal and dunk and was capped by Johnson’s trey. The sharpshooter from Holdrege fluttered in three second half triples, including one at the 4:08 mark that pushed the lead to 74-61.
The Omaha Westside High School product Wilson may have had as large of an impact on the outcome as anyone – and he did so while scoring four points. His 15 rebounds were a career high. He also dished out three assists, swiped two steals and made a particularly key defensive play that was referenced by Limback in his postgame remarks.
Said Limback, “He was kind of our player of the game in the locker room. I think everyone notices Brooks’ points – and Tate (Odvody), Stueve and Dane (Jacobsen). Logan had a huge block in the second half when they had a transition layup. He’s doing things for us at the defensive end in a big way, allowing us to switch aggressively. I’m really proud of his defense especially.”
Concordia shot 47.3 percent (26-for-55) overall and turned the ball over just six times. Four Bulldogs reached double figures in scoring: Kissinger (20), Stueve (18), Odvody (13) and Jacobsen (10). In piloting the attack, Jacobsen dropped four dimes. The scoring of Kissinger is becoming a constant. The Ashland, Neb., native has tallied at least 17 points in six consecutive games. In another positive development, Zac Kulus returned to the floor on Tuesday and put up eight points off the bench.
Mount Marty (3-6, 2-2 GPAC) opened the conference slate with wins over Dordt and Midland. The Lancers hung with the Bulldogs with the help of 18 points and 10 rebounds from Jake Jensen. Tyler Sandoval (15 points) and Jensen combined to grab seven of the team’s 11 offensive rebounds. Mount Marty shot 44.6 percent (29-for-65) for the game. The Lancers held a slight edge on the glass, 35-34.
The Bulldogs will be back inside Friedrich Arena next week with rival Doane (5-4, 1-2 GPAC) slated to pay a visit to town for a 7:45 p.m. CT tipoff on Wednesday, Dec. 3. Concordia has won each of the past seven series meetings with the Tigers, who have the entire Thanksgiving week off from competition.