We Love The 80's
Concordia posted its third win of the year when scoring in the 80's as they beat St. Mary's 82-67 in Winona.
WINONA, Minn. (12/3/16) --- The Cobbers have joined the likes of Ferris Buller's Day Off, Madonna and The Wonder Years for things that excelled in the 80's.
Concordia outscored St. Mary's 82-67 to even their record at 3-3 with all three wins coming when the Cobbers score in the 80's. Concordia has scored in the seventies in their other three games and have come up on the wrong side of the win-loss column.
In addition to getting to the .500 mark in all games, Concordia evened its conference record as they completed a three-game road trip with the 15-point win at St. Mary's. The Cardinals lose for the first time in league play and fall to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the MIAC.
The Cobbers led 37-35 heading into the intermission. CC was poised to potentially lead by double digits at the half but a pair of turnovers led to big baskets on the other end for the Cardinals which turned a seven-point lead into a two-point advantage at the half.
The first seven minutes of the second half the two teams exchanged baskets. The Cardinals tied the game on their first possession of the second 20 minutes and remained within four points for the initial minutes of the period.
A pair of Cole Kruger free throws at the 13:05 mark made it 51-50 but Concordia blew the game open by scoring on five of its next six possessions.
Austin Nelson began the 11-0 run by hitting a jumper in the lane and Guilherme Saad got in on the act by hitting a wing triple and a corner jumper to help the finish.
With 3:45 left to play St. Mary's got the score within 10 points but Zach Kinny connected on a trifecta – despite getting hammered in the act – and managed to complete the four-point play to bring the lead back up to 14 points at 77-63.
Dylan Alderman put the exclamation point on the win with a drive right down the middle through contact for the last field goal of the game.
Alderman led six Cobbers who were in double figures with a game-high 21 points. Austin Heinsdumped in 13 points while Kevin Wolfe and Saad each added 12 off the bench. Nelson ended with 11 while Kinny finished with 10 points for Concordia.
Wylie Ferron led three Cardinals in double digits with 18 points while Q. Smith-Pugh finished with a double-double as he scored 16 points and hauled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
Concordia shot a season-high 62% (31-of-50) from the floor while holding the Cardinals to their second lowest point total of the season and their second lowest shooting percentage 41.4% (24-of-58) of the season.
The Cobbers controlled the glass by outrebounding SMU 35-27 and CC's bench outscored the Cardinals 24-9.
MR. 599: Concordia head coach Rich Glas now has 599 career wins. Glas, who is in his 37th year as a head coach in college, needs one more win to join the likes of John Wooden, Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski in having won 600 games at the college level.
HIGH-PERCENTAGE SHOTS: Concordia led the nation in field goal shooting percentage last season and this year they are once again among the best in the country in shooting the basketball. The Cobbers 51.6% field goal percentage is the best in the MIAC and 15th in the country.
EFFICIENT BIG MEN: Austin Heins is shooting 76.7% from the floor – which is tops in the conference and good for fourth in the country. Kevin Wolfe's 75.0% shooting percentage is not far behind and is second in the league and fifth in Division III. Gui Saad's 69.0% shooting percentage is also good for fifth in the league and tied for 21st in the country. Saad's 52.9% percentage from beyond the arc is second best in the MIAC.
DROPPING DIMES: Zach Kinny added five rebounds and five assists to his complete his stat line on Saturday at St. Mary's. The senior from Litchfield leads the MIAC in assists per game as he dishes out 6.2 per game. His APG is also good for 19th in the nation. Kinny possesses a 4.57 assist to turnover ratio which is third in the MIAC and 18th in the country.
WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia wrapped a three-game road trip that took them through a vast majority of the state of Minnesota and will now have a seven-day break before returning to action. The Cobbers will host St. Olaf on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 3 p.m. The Oles are currently 2-3 and are coming off a 79-67 loss to Bethel. They will play Wednesday against Gustavus before making the trek from Northfield to Moorhead for Saturday's game.