Men’s basketball moves on in national tournament after close rematch with Bethel
Senior forward Tristan Smith (22) prepares a shot (photo from previous game)
Photo Credit: Maddy Peters
By Maddy Peters
Sixth seeded Concordia men’s basketball was able to clinch a close 79-76 win against the 11th seeded Bethel College Threshers in the first round of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship tournament in Baldwin City, Kan. Friday evening.
The two teams met in November of 2024 for a preseason game in which Concordia won by 10 points. The second matchup was a much closer ballgame with the Threshers maintaining a slight lead throughout the first half and the Bulldogs keeping an edge during the second.
Bethel took early points to put themselves ahead early and promised a defensive back and forth game. The Threshers lead by at most six throughout the half. Concordia briefly took the lead towards the end, but Bethel fought it right back and ended the half up by four at 42-38.
Concordia shot 15-28 for field goals in the first half. Bethel was at 17-33, but widened their lead with a 5-15 3-pointer rate. Concordia only made 2-11 3-pointer attempts. The Bulldogs were given more free throw chances going 6-11 from the charity stripe.
Defensive play heated up in the second half with early dry spells that the Bulldogs came out on top of. Concordia added 18 points in the first 10 minutes of the second and Bethel only added nine. The Threshers closed the gap, but were unable to overtake the Bulldogs again.
At the final 40 seconds of the game, the score was tied 73-73. The game had been within a single possession for the past five minutes. With 12 seconds on the clock, freshman Elijah Gaeth sunk a 3-pointer to force Bethel into a fouling situation. Free throws went up on both sides, but Concordia kept the lead. Senior Noah Schutte scored the final points of the game with two free throws. Bethel’s inbound flew cross court right into the hands of senior Tristan Smith with three seconds on the clock.
Concordia shot 13-32 in the second half and went 3-11 on 3-pointers. Once again, free throws made the difference for the Bulldogs going 12-16.
The usual shooters from beyond the arc were relatively unsuccessful with only junior Zac Kulus hitting his consistently. He went 3-4 and added a free throw to give him 10 total points. Senior Bradley Bennett and junior Jaxon Stueve hit none of their 3-pointer attempts. Sophomore Hayden Frank and Gaeth went 1-3.
Schutte was the top scorer of the night with 23 points closely followed by Smith at 22. Schutte and Smith also hit a double-double with 10 rebounds apiece to lead the team. Schutte also broke yet another school record and became the school leader in rebounds. He came into the game tied with the previous leader, Matt List (1988-91), and now stands at 938 career rebounds.
Smith nearly scratched a triple double with seven assists to his name. Kulus and Gaeth were the only other Bulldogs in double digits with 10 apiece.
The Bulldogs keep their national tournament dreams alive for another day as they look forward to their next match on March 15. Concordia will remain in Baldwin City to face the host the third seeded Baker University Wildcats in the second round of the national tournament. The team is now 26-6.
