Birtell earns second GPAC honor of the season

Concordia’s Porter Birtell picked up his second GPAC Player-of-the-Week honor of the season on Monday.  The junior post had back-to-back huge games this past week, as the Bulldogs went 1-1 against two of the top teams in the country.

Last Wednesday, Birtell (Madison, Neb.) had a career night in Concordia’s 94-75 road win over then #14 Northwestern College.  Birtell scored a career-best 37 points in the Bulldog victory.  He was a perfect 12-of-12 from the field and 13-of-16 at the foul line on the night.  His performance helped Concordia pick up its first win in Orange City since the mid 90’s.

Birtell followed with another strong game this past weekend, as the Bulldogs nearly upset 2nd-ranked Dordt College.  He finished with game-highs in points (23) and rebounds (13) in the 87-83 overtime loss to the Defenders. 

For the week, Birtell was 23-of-30 from the field for 77 percent.  He leads Concordia so far this season in scoring (18.7), rebounding (8.3) and field goal percentage (64.2).  His field goal percentage leads the GPAC, while his 18.7 points per game is good for second in the GPAC, trailing only Jake Shipley’s (Briar Cliff) 18.9 points per game.   

Concordia (8-8, 4-5 GPAC) travels to Hastings College and Morningside College this week to continue conference play.