Late 3-Point Storm Not Enough
Concordia made seven 3-pointers in the final 7-minutes of play at Macalester but it wasn't enough as the Cobbers fell 74-70 the Scots,
ST. PAUL, Minn. (1/08/20)---A 3-point storm front blew through St. Paul at 6:45 on Wednesday. Unfortunately for Concordia it was a few minutes late as the Cobbers lost 74-70 to Macalester.
The Cobbers trailed by 18 points and had scored 43 points against the Scots in the first 33-minutes of play. Concordia then started to rain down 3-pointers in the Leonard Center and got to within four points before time finally ran out. CC was 7-for-8 from outside the arc in the final 7-minutes of play as they tried to climb all the way back from the 18-point deficit.
Freshman Braeton Motschenbacher was the chief meteorologists behind the Cobber long-ball storm. He knocked down five of Concordia's seven 3-pointers down the stretch. Motschenbacher entered the game having scored 23 total points on the year. He nearly doubled that total as he finished with 18 points – all in the second half – and was 6-for-7 from outside the arc in the game.
Senior Bryden Urie made the other two long-range shots in the 3-storm for CC. He led all scorers with 20 points and went 3-for-6 from outside the arc and 8-for-16 from the floor. He also tied a season-high with five assists.
Senior John Reiten and freshman Josh Jeziorski both had a team-high seven rebounds in the game. Reiten also had five points. Jacob Fredrickson was the only other CC player with more than five points in the game. He went 4-for-7 from the floor and finished with eight points.
Concordia went 1-for-10 from outside the arc in the first half but then waited for the 3-storm to kick in and knocked down 10 of 13 long balls in the second half. The 11 made 3-pointers is the second most this season and most since the second game of the year when they connected on 12 against Wis.-Superior.
The Cobbers finished the game by making 42.9% (27-for-63) of their shots from the floor. Macalester shot 50.9% (29-for-57) from the field and only 23.1% (3-for-13) from 3-point range.
The Scots held a 37-32 edge in rebounds. Both teams only turned the ball over eight times in the game. The eight turnovers mark the first time in seven games that CC has had fewer turnovers in the game.
INSIDE STAT INFO: While Concordia exploded from outside down the stretch it was Macalester's ability to get to the basket in the first 33 minutes of the game that made the difference. The Scots finished the game with a 50-28 edge in points in the paint.
UP NEXT: Concordia has the "bye" in the conference schedule on Saturday and will return to action when they play at Martin Luther on Monday, Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. in the final non-conference game of the year. The Knights are 2-9 in all games and 0-4 in the UMAC.