Bulldog Men Cap off First Night of CIT with Win Over Concordia Chicago

By Darien Semedo

The 70th Concordia Invitational Tournament’s first night came to a close with the hometown Concordia Bulldogs defeating Concordia Chicago 89-70.

The Bulldogs hit a rough patch in the middle of their season, but stacked two wins together after the Friday night performance.

Coach Ben Limback relied on an effort from everyone on the team. The energy was high as Friedrich Arena was filled with Bulldogs fans.

“It’s awesome to have the energy alone,” Limback said. “I felt like we needed that in the second half to create some momentum and I know our team feeds off of it. What an atmosphere!”

The Bulldogs starters were led by Noah Schutte with 22 points and Gage Smith, who came up just short of a triple double. The Bulldogs’ largest lead of the night was 20 points, but in the second half, Concordia Chicago came within four multiple times down the stretch.

The Bulldogs were able to find an answer to every run, especially from freshman Zac Kulus. He led a bench squad that outscored Chicago 35 -20, including 19 points on five 3-pointers.

Kulus had been practicing and was ready for his opportunity.

“I’ve been practicing hard every game, just waiting on my opportunity to get out there,” he said. “My teammates were finding me out there, which is a part of it too, and my coaches have been keeping me ready. When I go in, I keep playing my game and be ready to shoot the ball.”

Gage Smith had a good outing for the Bulldogs, building upon his recent play. Smith finished 13-9-8, adding a steal and two blocks. He fed off the crowd and said he loved to see the support from the Bulldog faithful, including some fans from his high school.

“The crowd was crazy tonight; it just gets your adrenaline right for the game,” Smith said. “You can just tell from the beginning all of our guys were ready to play and we just executed.”

Smith is excited to see where the season continues as the Bulldogs get ready to ramp up for the Great Plains Athletic Conference playoffs. With the loss of Tristan Smith and A.J. Watson for the foreseeable future, this win could be the first step for the defending champs to get their footing.

“I think we are figuring out that we are a really good team,” Smith said. “With my brother, Tristan Smith, and A.J. out, it’s next man up right! It’s Zac one night, Jaxon the other night. We’re having a lot of freshmen step up and I’m excited for the future of this team.”

Limback and his team will be facing Concordia Wisconsin for the CIT Championship, in a game that will have plenty of energy and people at Friedrich Arena Saturday night.