Bulldogs take down Lancers with first half explosion, 92-63
Photo description: Freshman Brooks Kissinger puts up a shot.
Photo credit: Esther Molina (photo from previous game)
Darien Semedo
Sower Staff
The Concordia Bulldogs jumped out on the Mount Marty Lancers at home, finishing the first half up 49-17, giving the bench plenty of time to gain experience.
It was an early and fast night for the Bulldogs against the last place Lancers in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. In a week with three games, it was good for the Bulldogs to take advantage early and give their starters rest. In turn, Coach Ben Limback was able to deploy his young bench.
Junior Tristan Smith led the way, scoring the first seven points of the game for the Bulldogs. Their offense and defense would settle in around the 10-minute mark of the first, leading to a 15-point lead. Three starters had double digits by the end of the first half, led by Smith at 14. Smith would finish with 18 points and 12 rebounds, good for a double-double in 16 minutes.
“It was nice because we got to give our starters a little bit of rest,” Smith said. “You know coming into CIT, a back-to-back is always hard on the body, especially on the road. It was also nice to get some experience for our younger guys that don’t get in as much. We got to see them get after it and show that they can hoop. 1-15 we got a really talented team so it’s fun to watch them play.”
Nine players came off the bench, leading to 42 total bench points. Freshman Hayden Frank led the way with 13 points for the reserves, while sophomore Zac Kulus hit 10 points as well. As a team the Bulldogs shot 49.2 percent from the field, including 11-25 from the field. They found their way to the free throw line as well, hitting 19-22 in the evening.
On defense, the Bulldogs played great in the first half, allowing only 17 points in the period. In the second half, the Lancers were able to get to the rim and foul line, leading to 46 second half points. The Bulldogs finished with eight steals and two blocks while holding the Lancers to 32.9 percent shooting from the field.
The Bulldogs will now head to Mequon, Wis., to play Concordia Ann Arbor (6-12, 4-10) in their opening round of the Concordia Invitational Tournament. The Bulldogs will be defending the trophy they won last year, something that Smith mentioned is important to the team.
“We want to keep the trophy here, so we going to go and try to take care of business against two good teams and if we handle business early, then I think it’s ours to take,” said Smith.
