SEWARD, Neb. – The layoff for Thanksgiving failed to slow the Bulldogs’ roll. The 24th-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball team shot 55.2 percent from the field and steamrolled visiting Doane, 90-59, inside Friedrich Arena on Wednesday (Dec. 3). Brooks Kissinger and Jaxon Stueve scored 11 second-half points apiece as the Bulldogs pushed their winning streak to six.
Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad remains unbeaten in league play at 4-0 (7-2 overall). Other than a slight disadvantage on the boards, Concordia had its way with the Tigers.
“We knew it was going to be a physical game," Limback said. "We always enjoy when you battle these rivals in-state, and we continue to hang our hat a lot on defense. First half, they didn't get a lot of great looks, but a lot of that was great pressure on our part. Second half, I just can't say enough about our aggressive play on offense. Stueve got it going in the second half. Tate Odvody continues to do great things away from the ball. Obviously, Brooks Kissinger did a great job. Just proud of our guys and glad to see Hayden Frank get in at the end.”
It took Doane more than 14 minutes to crack double digits on the scoreboard. By then, the Bulldogs had built a 14-point lead that they never looked back from. In the final moments of the first half, Garret Johnson helped stretch the lead to 15 (41-26) with a pair of 3-point field goals. Concordia’s first 20-point lead came at the 15:57 mark of the second half and the spread later bulged to 33 (88-55).
Kissinger continued his abuse of conference brethren with 24 more points on Wednesday. He made 9 of 13 shots from the floor and added five assists and four rebounds to his stat line. Other double figure scorers were Tate Odvody (14) and Jaxon Stueve (12). Odvody pulled in a team-high six rebounds. Additionally, Dane Jacobsen posted seven points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals and Logan Wilson chipped in six points, five rebounds and two blocked shots.
The lopsided margin lent for plenty of bench opportunities. The Bulldog reserves combined for 27 points. In his first appearance of the season while making his return from injury, Hayden Frank notched six points.
A 33-30 rebounding edge was the highlight for Doane (5-5, 1-3 GPAC). Casen Chaney paced the Tigers with 15 points while Jack Wilson tallied 14 points and eight rebounds. Doane shot 40 percent (24-for-60) overall and went only 2-for-18 from beyond the arc. The Tigers have dropped each of their last eight matchups with Concordia.
Wednesday’s effort was especially positive for the Bulldogs on the defensive end. Said Limback, “Our team is not afraid of physicality. We got some toughness in these guys. We knew they were going to be physical. Their rebounding in the second half hurt us and kept them in the game overall. But otherwise, I thought we guarded really well. I love this team. They are starting to really understand how hard to compete at the defensive end but also offensively, what each other’s strengths are and how to play off of them.”
The week at home will continue on Saturday with Dakota Wesleyan (5-5, 2-2 GPAC) set to visit Friedrich Arena for a 3:45 p.m. CT tipoff. The Bulldogs have won each of the previous four meetings over Dakota Wesleyan, who are led by a first-year head coach in Sam Nicholson. The Tigers were idle on Wednesday.