Martinson Leads Long-Range Attack In Win Over SMU

MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/07/13)—Andrew Martinson "just did his job" as he came off the bench to knock down five 3-pointers, finish with a team-high 19 points and help Concordia earn a 93-72 win over St. Mary's on Monday.

Martinson and the Cobbers shot 88.9% (8-for-9) from 3-point range in the first half to grab control of the game. Concordia turned a tight back-and-forth game into a 13-point halftime advantage when they connected on six straight shots from behind the arc in the final 7:39 of the first period.

Concordia's long-range outburst helped the Cobbers record their fifth straight game and push their overall record to four games above the .500 mark – both marks are the first since the 2010-11 season. CC is now 8-4 overall and 5-2 in conference play. Concordia is currently in third place in the league standings.

The 93-point output marked the second straight game that the Cobbers have reached the 90-point plateau. It is also the fourth consecutive game they have scored at least 80 points. 

When asked by Fargo Forum reporter Eric Peterson about his hot hand in the first half, Martinson responded, "that's my job to knock down shots when I'm open." Martinson did his "job" to near perfection in the first half when he went 4-for-6 from behind the arc and drained a trio of 3-point shots in a span of 1:17. His spree helped CC go from a six-point lead at 36-30 to a 10-point advantage at 48-38. That streak would give the Cobbers the momentum to control the remainder of the game.

"It's nice to be able to make shots from the outside," commented head coach Rich Glas. "In the past couple of years we were lucky to score 60 points in a game."

Martinson was one of five Cobber players to score in double figures. Ebo Nana-Kweson and Aaron Lindahl had 16 points each while Dewon McKenzie added 12 and Jason Huus had 10 points. Nana-Kweson also had a team-high eight rebounds while Lindahl went 2-for-3 from behind the arc and also chipped in three assists and three steals. Huus had the most crow-pleasing moment of the game when he threw down a two-handed dunk in the second half.

Concordia finished the game by shooting 55.0% (33-for-60) from the floor and 56.3% (9-for-16) from 3-point range. It is the fifth straight game that CC has shot better than 50.0% from the floor. It is also the seventh time this season they have bettered that mark and the Cobbers are now 7-0 in those games.

The Cobbers will continue with the January conference grind when they play at St. John's on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m.