WATCH: Tristan Smith breaks the program single-game scoring record
SEWARD, Neb. – The Tristan Smith Game leads the Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball team into a GPAC semifinal clash with Northwestern. Smith ‘wowed’ the Friedrich Arena crowd with a program single-game record 48 points in Wednesday’s 101-81 GPAC quarterfinal win over seventh-seeded Midland. Head Coach Ben Limback has led the Bulldogs to the GPAC semifinals for the fourth-straight year. A 14th-consecutive series win over the in-state Warriors has pushed Concordia’s overall season record to 24-5. The Bulldogs will attempt to reach the conference final for the third time in six seasons.
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GPAC Semifinals – Saturday, March 1 vs. No. 13 Northwestern (25-4, 16-4 GPAC), 3 p.m.
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
--Admission: $10 for adults; $3 for students (K-College); GPAC students with ID are admitted free; season passed are not allowed (NAIA issued passes are allowed).
By the numbers
· The Tristan Smith Game. That is how Wednesday’s GPAC quarterfinal game will go down in Bulldog folklore. With his 48-point effort, Smith broke Jon Ziegler’s school record of 47 points that had stood since 2007. In a legendary effort of his own, Ziegler led the 2006-07 squad to an 87-78 overtime upset win over 11th-ranked University of Sioux Falls. Smith had reached 30 points four times this season but never 40. The Elizabeth, Colo., native eclipsed the record in the final minute of the victory over Midland. Smith reached 48 points on 19-for-26 shooting from the floor and 10-for-12 shooting from the foul line. He also collected 10 rebounds and four assists. Smith’s career point total jumped to 1,509, making him the 11th player in program history to hit that mark. Notably, Noah Schutte broke Ziegler’s former school record for career points scored. Schutte now has 2,253 career points.
· The GPAC quarterfinal round went chalk as each of the top four seeds prevailed on their home courts. No. 1 Dordt defeated No. 8 Mount Marty, 76-59, No. 2 Concordia def. No. 7 Midland, 101-81, No. 3 Northwestern def. No. 6 Briar Cliff, 83-65, and No. 4 Morningside def. No. 5 Dakota Wesleyan, 91-74. The top five seeds in the conference all appear to be locks to be included in the national tournament (with Dordt already having earned an auto bid). While Smith was the quarterfinal round’s biggest star, Northwestern’s Jesse Van Kalsbeek put together a fine performance of his own with 32 points and 15 rebounds versus Briar Cliff. Meanwhile, Dordt got 24 points from leading scorer Lucas Lorenzen and Morningside was paced by Aidan Vanderloo’s 31 points.
· Midland endeavored to take away Concordia’s perimeter shooting on Wednesday and limited the Bulldogs without a made 3-point field goal for the entire first half. However, the Bulldogs owned the paint (66 points in the paint) and built the lead to 20 by the 16:16 mark of the second half. Beyond Smith’s 48 points, six Concordia players scored in the range of six to nine points: Elijah Gaeth (nine), Brad Bennett (eight), Zac Kulus (seven), Brooks Kissinger (six), Schutte (six) and Jaxon Stueve (six). The Bulldogs shot 58.9 percent from the floor. The Warriors (12-17) got a team best 20 points from Jake Orr and shot 52.9 percent as a team.
· The victory at Mount Marty to close the regular season marked GPAC win No. 16 on the season, which broke the program record for most league victories in a single season. The previous standard of 15 conference wins had been attained by both the 2021-22 and 2023-24 squads that earned shares of the GPAC regular season title. The closest the Bulldogs have come to an undefeated conference regular season occurred in 1994-95 when then Head Coach Grant Schmidt’s squad went 11-1 in Nebraska-Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action. The league schedule expanded when the GPAC era began in 2000-01.
· The GPAC annually announces all-conference basketball awards the day after the GPAC tournament championship game is played. Schutte and Smith are virtual locks to be named to the league’s first team. The Elizabeth, Colo., native Smith appears to also be the frontrunner to be tabbed GPAC Player of the Year. Among conference players, Smith ranks first in field goal percentage (.703), second in blocks (1.6), third in assists (4.2), fourth in rebounding (8.0), fifth in scoring average (21.0) and eighth in steals (1.6). Smith is vying to become the program’s first conference player of the year since Rick Dietze in 2003-04. Named an NAIA Third Team All-American last season, Schutte is likely to be honored as a First Team All-GPAC selection for the third time in his career.
· Limback’s crew will attempt to add to the program’s four all-time GPAC tournament championships. Those titles occurred in 2003, 2005, 2020 and 2022. During the era of the Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference, Concordia also won conference tournaments in 1995, 1997 and 1998. Under Limback, the Bulldogs celebrated the 2020 GPAC tournament title when they edged Dakota Wesleyan, 68-66, in the Corn Palace. Two years later, Concordia had the privilege of hosting the championship game and knocked off Jamestown, 77-70. In both 2023 and 2024, the Bulldogs earned quarterfinal wins before bowing out in the semifinals.
· Concordia posted a 13-1 home record during the regular season. As a program, the Bulldogs have triumphed in 57 of their last 62 home games (dating back to the 2021-22 season). In this season’s 15 home games, Concordia has outscored its opponents, 90.3 to 71.5, and has outshot them, 53.3 to 43.6 percent. Senior Brad Bennett has especially enjoyed Friedrich Arena, where he is shooting 45.5 percent from 3-point range (40-for-88).
· Bennett enters the weekend having tallied 966 career points while draining 198 treys during a stellar Concordia career. Currently, there are 36 players in the program’s 1,000-point club, which is led by Schutte with 2,253 points. With Schutte missing last week’s two games, his pursuit of the program’s all-time rebound record was put on hold. Schutte’s 915 career rebounds rank only behind Matt List (928) in school history. In his school record performance on Wednesday, Smith hit a career milestone of 1,500 career points.
Concordia Projected Starting Five
G – Brad Bennett, 6-1 (10.2)
G – Elijah Gaeth, 6-4 (5.2)
G – Jaxon Stueve, 6-4 (8.4)
F – Noah Schutte, 6-4 (15.8)
F – Tristan Smith, 6-5 (21.0)
GPAC semifinal opponent
Northwestern began this season at 17-0 and leapt as high as No. 3 in the NAIA coaches’ poll. The Red Raiders then suffered three-straight defeats before righting the ship and winning eight of their next nine heading into the GPAC semifinals. Head Coach Kris Korver’s squad has reconfigured its lineup and rotation while playing without All-American Alex Van Kalsbeek for each of the past five outings (including an 87-70 home win over Concordia). Alex’s younger brother Jesse has helped pick up the slack in averaging 29.0 points per game over that five-game stretch. With Alex sidelined, the team’s top two scorers in the lineup are freshmen in Jesse Van Kalsbeek and guard Jalen Langsy. On the perimeter, Kaleb Booth has drained 74-of-122 (.607) attempts from 3-point range. The Red Raiders lead the GPAC in scoring at 91.1 points per game on the strength of 56.0 percent shooting. Concordia and Northwestern split their two regular season affairs with the home team winning in both instances. Saturday’s semifinal winner will draw either Dordt or Morningside in the championship game on March 4.
Northwestern Projected Starting Five
G – Kaleb Booth, 6-0 (10.1)
G – Conner Geddes, 6-2 (6.0)
G – Jalen Langsy, 6-0 (17.7)
F – Zach LaFave, 6-5 (8.3)
F – Jesse Van Kalsbeek, 6-6 (21.1)
Head Coach: Kris Korver (25th season)
2025 GPAC Men’s Basketball Tournament
Quarterfinals – Wednesday, Feb. 26
(1) Dordt def. (8) Mount Marty, 76-59
(4) Morningside def. (5) Dakota Wesleyan, 91-74
(3) Northwestern def. (6) Briar Cliff, 83-65
(2) Concordia def. (7) Midland, 101-81
Semifinals – Saturday, March 1
(4) Morningside at (1) Dordt, 4 p.m.
(3) Northwestern at (2) Concordia, 3 p.m.
Championship – Tuesday, March 4
Semifinal winners, time TBA