SEWARD, Neb. – The Concordia University Men’s Basketball team dominated the first half and then had a wakeup call in the second on Wednesday night (Jan. 26). After being up 19 points on visiting Hastings at halftime, the Concordia lead was cut to single digits late in the game. Ultimately the Bulldogs were able to prevail, winning by a final score of 82-68. Along with picking up its 11th conference win of the season, Concordia kept a 15-game home winning streak intact.
Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad improves to 18-5 overall and 11-4 in conference play. Coach Limback, had hoped for a more concentrated second half, but he was happy that his team found a way to come away with a victory.
“I give [Hastings] a lot of credit – they wanted to play in the second half and we challenged our guys,” Limback said, “Even at the end of the first half I thought we got a little complacent. Honestly, offensively we weren’t making some shots, but I was really disappointed in our defense. They’ve got good players. First half they were missing some wide-open shots and I thought we got bored and lost interest in the game, which is unacceptable. We talked about it. It’s nice to learn lessons when you win but we want to be a team that plays our best at the right time.”
In the absence of Justin Wiersema, Gage Smith took over the scoring for the Bulldogs. He secured a double-double with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Noah Schutte also had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. AJ Watson found himself in double figures at the end of the night with 13 points while also grabbing six rebounds. Carter Kent added eight points and four assists.
Said Limback, “They [Smith & Schutte] finished down the stretch. We turned it on and that’s the goal to find that offensive urgency and defensive intensity all the way through.”
The Bulldogs shot a respectable 43.5 percent (30-for-69) from the field compared to Hastings’ 37.5 percent. Concordia also shot 33.3 percent from behind the three-point arc in the contest. The Bulldogs managed to win the rebounding battle as well, outmuscling the Broncos 46-35.
Hastings falls to 6-17 overall (1-12 GPAC) with the loss. Dashawn Walker led the Broncos in scoring with 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Karson Ganesbom and Zach Rust were the only other major contributors for Hastings – Gansebom with 18 points and Rust with 17 points and five rebounds.
Concordia will have this upcoming weekend off after the cancellation of the Concordia Invitational Tournament for the second consecutive year. Coach Limback expects his team to bring the intensity to practice during the time off from game action.
“We’ve got to have a better practice intensity and the guys even mentioned that before the coaches got in there,” Limback said. “Our leaders know that. We’ve got to put the pedal to the metal now. We can’t just talk about it, we have to do the work. I know these guys will bounce back and be ready tomorrow and the next day.”
Concordia won’t be back in action until Wednesday (Feb. 2). Concordia will go on the road to face Midland (14-10, 5-9 GPAC) on Wednesday. The two teams last met in November when the Bulldogs came away with the victory, 82-68. Tipoff is set for 7:45 p.m. CT from Fremont, Neb.
