A Balanced Beginning
Concordia had four players score in double figures as they beats Minn.-Morris 92-65 in the season opener.
Moorhead, Minn. (11/14/15) --- Concordia used a balanced scoring attack, shot 60.5% in thefirst half and ran away from Minn.-Morris to post a 92-65 victory in the 2015-16 season opener.
The Cobbers had four players score in double figures and had seven athletes with at least fivepoints as they won their season opener for the fifth straight year.
Concordia led wire-to-wire thanks to a 10-0 run to start the contest. The senior-laden Cobberswere 23-for-38 in the first 20 minutes of play en route to a 28-point halftime cushion. WhileConcordia was blistering the nets for the first time in 2015, the Cougars were chugging along at a37% (10-for-27) clip from the floor in the first half.
The Cobbers would push their lead to 21-11 with 11:54 to play in the opening half after JordanBolger scored in transition and then Tom Fraase got hot from distance. The senior fromBismarck Century launched from beyond the arc as the shot clock wound down and connected,then came down in transition and buried another triple.
With 7:54 on the clock Fraase struck again. He was the benefactor of a kickout from BradySyverson on the first made three and netted yet another while falling down in transition onthe next possession to give Concordia a 41-17 advantage.
Junior guard Zach Kinny got in on the action a few minutes later. Kinny got out in transition andgot a layup and then followed with a right-side trey pushing the Cobber lead to 50-29.
Alderman and Fraase chipped in with transition buckets to close out the half and Concordia took a59-31 lead into the intermission.
The Cobbers got stops defensively and continued to push their lead in the second half. Aldermanand Fraase knocked down elbow jumpers in the half court and Bolger sunk five free throws in theopening minutes. With 13:21 to play, Concordia found themselves up 70-40.
Kinny and Austin Nelson connected on trifectas keeping the Cobber lead around 30 points withseven minutes to play. Casey Bruggeman forced a turnover and then broke out in transitionfor the uncontested layup breaching the 90-point barrier at the three-minute mark.
Isaac Anderson powered his way in the lane for the Cobbers' final basket of the game with justunder a minute to play as Concordia cruised to a 92-65 season opening win.
Concordia vs. Minn.-Morris Video Highlights
THREEE FOR TOM FRAASE:
It was a phrase that echoed loud in Memorial Auditorium through a majority of the evening. Tom Fraase poured in a career high 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-8 from downtown. It is the seventh time Fraase has led the Cobbers in his scoring in his career. He added five rebounds and three assists in the contest.
BULLY FOR BOLGER: Jordan Bolger was a force that could not be stopped. The two-time All-MIAC standout gritted his way to 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Bolger overpowered the Cougars in the lane drawing foul after foul. He would shoot 12 free throws, hitting nine.
D.A. OR A.D.? The question is do you say D.A. or A.D. for all day? It doesn't matter. Dylan Alderman posted a career high 14 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists in his first career start. The point guard displayed a calm and steady hand while in his starting debut.
HOT HANDS: Head coach Rich Glas has always stressed making shots, not just taking them and his team did that tonight. The Cobbers shot 54% (36-for-66) from the field for the game which is the highest shooting percentage for CC in a season opener since the 2011 season.
QUOTABLE: "You know what we shot the ball well. We shot 60% in the first half and that doesn't happen very often but this year we have really made an emphasis on working the ball around and passing up good shots for better shots. We've bought into the team concept this year of being "A Man" not "The Man" and it showed tonight." – Tom Fraase discussing how well the Cobbers played as a team on Saturday night.
WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS: Concordia poured in 92 points offensively, the most since Nov. 24, 2012 when the team defeated the Wisc.-Superior 95-90 in a double overtime thriller.
WHAT'S NEXT? Concordia will head across the street on Tuesday night as they take on cross-town rival MSU-Moorhead. The Cobbers dropped the annual battle of 8th street 87-59 last season. The Dragons, who advanced to the Elite 8 in Division II last season, currently stand at 4-1 and is coming off a tournament championship at the Arkansas Tech Classic where they defeated the host Wonder Boys 80-78 in the championship game.
