Men’s Basketball Loses Close Game to Ranked Morningside
Daniel Kuefner
Sower Staff
The Concordia men’s basketball team lost to 20th ranked Morningside University 76-71 on Thursday. Sophomore Noah Schutte finished off a double-double performance in the contest with 27 points and 10 rebounds.
Concordia found the net first with two unanswered layups to start the first half. Morningside came back with six unanswered points of their own. Concordia used their first timeout with 13:57 left in the half, trailing 15-9. With just under five minutes left in the half Shutte made a layup to bring the game back within a point, 24-23. The first half ended with a Morningside run of 13-5, leaving Concordia trailing 37-28.
Senior Gage Smith finished the first half with nine points, three assists, three steals, and five boards. Concordia shot 20% from the 3-point line in the first half and had nine turnovers. The Bulldogs did have the upper hand on the boards, though, collecting 22 in the first half compared to the Mustangs’ 18.
Morningside began the second half with three consecutive layups to extend their lead to 15, and forced another Bulldog timeout. Morningside was able to maintain a firm lead until Concordia rallied to a 71-69 deficit with 1:11 left in the game. Smith made a layup with five seconds left, but Morningside had extended their lead and held on to win 76-71.
Schutte talked about the importance of the team’s mindset moving forward. He said, “Our mindset doesn’t change. It’s the time of year where you have quick turnarounds and can’t hang your heads. We have to focus on getting better each day to prepare for our next opponent in a very tough league.”
Concordia finished shooting 39% from the floor and were 21-24 from the free throw line. The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Mustangs with 45 rebounds to Morningside’s 36. Sophomore Bradley Bennett scored 24 points and also collected nine rebounds and two steals. Bennett was 10-11 on the night from the free throw line.
The Bulldogs now have a 11-8 record with a 7-6 record against Great Plains Athletic Conference opponents. Concordia will travel to Orange City, Iowa, on Saturday to take on Northwestern College.
