CUNE Men Come Out on Top in Physical Championship Game Against Concordia Wisconsin

Madeline Peters

Sower Staff

The Concordia University Nebraska men’s basketball team won the men’s portion of the Concordia Invitational Tournament against the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons 82-64 Saturday night.

The first half started off with both teams shooting shot for shot, keeping the score close. Around the 11-minute mark in the first half, the Bulldogs started to pull away from the Falcons and expanded their lead for the rest of the half. The largest lead they managed was 16 points, but the half ended 45-32, with Nebraska in the lead by 13 points.

Nebraska only strengthened their lead in the second half. Wisconsin was unable to keep up with the intensity the Bulldogs brought to that game. The Falcons were quite physical, however. They had 19 personal fouls for the night, 10 of which came in the second half alone.

Sophomore Noah Schutte commented on the amount of fouls against the Bulldogs, saying, “It was a physical battle throughout the game, but y’know, we came out with the right intensity. It was for a championship game, but it was a collective effort both nights.”

Schutte said he and his teammates felt confident throughout the game, saying, “I don’t think any of us really felt pressure. I think it was more excitement to get out there and play in front of these great fans. The students showed out and the energy was great, and I think we feed off it really well.”

Sophomore Brad Bennett was the top scorer of the night with 23 points. Schutte scored 19 points and freshman Zac Kulus shot 14. Senior Gage Smith led the team in both rebounds and assists with eight and six respectively.

Bennett and Schutte were also named to the All-Concordia Men’s Basketball team in the awards ceremony with Schutte named MVP of the tournament on the men’s side.

The power and confidence that came from the energy in the arena and the fans was a common theme among the participants in this championship game. Head Coach Ben Limback said, “Well, it was a great atmosphere, and I think tonight was even up a notch from last night. I think the pep band and the students section, the crowd, the fans alone, makes it a lot better of an environment.”

“We had fun and I’m sure they had fun too. It was nice to come up on the winning side,” Limback continued.

Even players from other schools felt the palpable energy Saturday night. Concordia University Wisconsin senior Grant Karsten said, “It was a fun experience overall. We only had three guys over in Chicago a couple years ago for the last CIT, so this whole experience, packed gym, and good atmosphere was a lot of fun. Obviously we would’ve loved to win, but it was a fun win against Ann Arbor yesterday.”

Karsten and his family were featured in an article by Jake Knabel earlier in the month. Three generations of Karstens participated in previous CIT tournaments. The current Karsten was proud of his family’s CIT history, saying, “My dad played in it at Seward and won four CITs in the 80s-90s and my grandpa played in the seminary too, so for me it was a really cool experience being a senior and everything. It was awesome, and there’s so much history that goes into it, this being the 70th year and everything.”

With so much history behind the CIT tournament and the two cancellations in the past, the teams were excited to finally have their own experience. Limback said, “I feel like not many people knew what it was about, even on our team. We only had one guy who’s ever played in it, and just the experience! Right? To not have it for two years and all of a sudden there it is. Makes it even more special.”

Schutte had been anticipating the tournament. He said, “It was a new experience for everyone except Gage [Smith] on the team, so y’know, we didn’t really know what to expect. But you saw the crowd. Everyone was amped up ready to go; everyone [on the team] stepped up, especially Zac and Brad tonight. I mean, they hit big shots to get us going right from the start.”

The men’s basketball team is now 14-9 overall and returns to regular conference play on Feb. 1 in Fremont against Midland University.