Concordia Four-Game Winning Streak Ended by Dordt College
Photo credit to Kayla Korb
Daniel Kuefner
Sower Staff
The Concordia men’s basketball team lost a closely fought game against Dordt College 74-71 on Saturday. Senior Gage Smith finished the game with 28 points as he shot 50 percent from the field and collected six rebounds.
Before the game began, the Bulldogs took a moment to recognize seniors of the team that will be graduating in the spring. Seniors Kelly Vyhnalek, Garrett Seagren, Skyler Woita, and Breadon Thompson were each given a graduation cord and were welcomed to the court with words of appraisal from head coach Ben Limback. Gage Smith, who graduated last year, was also acknowledged for his contribution to the team.
The first half was played primarily in the favor of the Bulldogs. Dordt’s only lead in the half came with 19:22 on the clock. Concordia held the lead the rest of the half, taking an 11-point lead twice and keeping the Defenders at bay. The half ended with the Bulldogs holding a 37-33 point lead.
At the half, Smith had 10 points, while his teammate sophomore Noah Schutte led the team with five rebounds. Concordia held the lead on the board at the break with 17 rebounds compared to Dordt’s 16, but the teams were even with four steals apiece.
Early in the second half Dordt went on a 9-0 run to take a 44-41 point lead over the Bulldogs. From that point on, Concordia played from behind. The Bulldogs trailed by 11 points with 3:35 left in the contest. Shutte and Smith combined for 11 points in the next two minutes.
The Bulldogs had control of the ball with 24 seconds left in the game, but were down by three. After a timeout Concordia looked to even the score and take the game to overtime. The Bulldogs took three three-point attempts in the last 11 seconds but were unable to convert any of them, leading to the 74-71 final score.
Alongside Smith’s powerful performance Schutte added 19 points of his own as well as recording nine boards. The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Defenders with 35 boards to Dordt’s 34. Concordia was unable to match Dordt’s perfect free throw percentage, shooting 66.7 percent from the free throw line.
The team’s record is now 15-10 with a Great Plains Athletic Conference record of 9-8. The Bulldogs will be back in action Wednesday against Doane University in Crete, beginning play at 7:45 p.m.
