Buzzer-Beater Drama Fades In Overtime
Concordia was unable to take advantage of Dylan Alderman's buzzer-beating turnaround jumper that tied the game and lost in OT at St. Olaf.
MOORHEAD, Minn. (12/9/15) --- In the end it wasn't the three-point difference in overtime that doomed Concordia to a 73-70 extra period loss at St. Olaf. The biggest difference in the game came in the second half when the Cobbers gave up a 29-9 run at the beginning of the period.
The 20-point difference at the start of the second half coupled with a a career-high 23 points from an unexpected source pushed Concordia to its third straight loss to start the conference season.
Concordia falls to 3-5 overall and remains winless in conference play at 3-5 with the loss while St. Olaf improves to 3-3 and 2-1 in MIAC play.
Concordia jumped out to an early 7-5 lead. Jordan Bolger scored a pair of inside baskets followed by a Dylan Alderman old-fashioned 3-point play.
A few minutes later Issac Anderson scored on a hook followed by a Austin Nelson putback layup that pushed the Cobbers ahead 11-8 with 14:20 to play in the opening half.
Concordia outrebounded the Oles 20-7 in the first half and got several second-chance opportunities, but St. Olaf received a spark on the offensive end in the form of low-scoring Evan O'Dorisio.
O'Dorisio came into the game averaging 2.4 points per game in 15.6 minutes per game.
O'Dorisio caught fire in the first half and buried three triples, the last of them coming at the 5:16 mark of the half that gave St. Olaf a 28-26 lead.
The Cobbers finished the half on a 14-3 run highlighted by a pair of inside buckets from Anderson and six points from Bolger. Concordia took a 40-31 lead into the intermission.
Tom Fraase buried a 3-pointer but O'Dorisio answered with a trifecta on the other end to start the second half.
The Oles charged back in the opening minutes of the second half as Austin Majeskie scored a pair of baskets in transition and a few possessions later Riley Aeikens tied the game 44-44 with 15:54 to play.
O'Dorisio scored in the half court and then nailed a triple on the following possession. Justin Pahl canned a deep ball moments later that put the Oles in the driver's seat leading 56-47.
In the first 14:33 of the second half, St. Olaf outscored the Cobbers 29-9 before CC stormed back.
Nelson rattled one home from downtown and Bolger came up with a steal and a layup for a quick five-point swing.
Former MSU Moorhead Dragon standout Ben Figini knocked down an elbow jumper but Fraase and Nelson answered on the opposite end that made it 62-58 in favor of the Oles with 2:31 to play.
Alderman jabbed and finished at the rim and then the Cobbers were forced to foul. The Oles made just one of two free throws and CC had a chance to tie the game, down 63-60 with 30 seconds to play.
Head coach Rich Glas called timeout with seven seconds remaining to draw up one last look.
Concordia got a look at the top of the key that clanged off the back iron. Alderman flew in from the top of the key, snagged the board, took a dribble to get behind the arc, turned and knocked down a ridiculous fadeaway 3-pointer as time expired to force the game to overtime.
Alderman scored the first basket of the overtime but it was all St. Olaf in the extra period.
O'Dorisio knocked down a pair of free throws to finish off his career night by going 7-for-10 from the field and 4-for-5 from downtown en route to a career high 23 points.
Figini and Aeikens scored and then Pahl hit 3-of-4 from the line to make it 73-67 with six seconds to play. Nelson hit a triple as time expired but it was too little too late as the Oles staved off the Cobbers in the extra five minutes.
THE DAILY DOUBLE
Jordan Bolger tallied 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting and hauled down 15 rebounds to go along with an assist and three steals. He had totaled 16 points and eight boards by the intermission. It's a good thing Bolger is well-conditioned, because the Cobber energizer bunny logged a career-high 42 minutes, topping his previous high when he played 39 minutes last season against Macalester.
DOWNTOWN NELSON
Austin Nelson recorded 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including 4-for-7 from behind the arc. Averaging 11.6 points per contest, Nelson has scored in double figures four times and has pitched in 18 points twice.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Concordia returns home for the first time since the season opener on November 14th. The Cobbs will play host to a 4-2 Augsburg team on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 1 p.m. The Auggies are coming off a 68-65 loss at St. Mary's and now stand at 2-1 in MIAC play with the loss to the Cardinals