SEWARD, Neb. – Back at home this week, the Concordia University men’s basketball team has its sights set on getting in the win column in GPAC play. The Bulldogs were defeated on the road last week by Midland, 78-72, and No. 10 Briar Cliff, 81-64. Head coach Ben Limback’s squad is now 3-2 overall with its of its three victories coming inside Walz Arena, where Concordia will entertain Hastings on Wednesday and Jamestown on Saturday.
This Week
Wednesday, Nov. 14 vs. Hastings (6-1, 2-0), 8 p.m.
-Webcast: Concordia Sports Network
-Radio: 104.9 Max Country
Saturday, Nov. 17 vs. Jamestown (5-1, 1-1), 4 p.m.
-Webcast: Concordia Sports Network
-Radio: 104.9 Max Country
The Bulldogs are still in the process of feeling things out with a revamped roster. One thing they know they can rely on is the scoring punch on the perimeter from Tanner Shuck and Brevin Sloup. They are neck and neck for the title of team scoring leader with Sloup averaging 15.8 points and Shuck 15.6. As a whole, Concordia knows it’s going to have to improve its offensive output after shooting 41.9 percent at Midland and 34.6 percent at Briar Cliff. A return home may help. The Bulldogs shot better than 50 percent in two of their first three home games.
Limback did tweak the starting lineup prior to the Briar Cliff game, which saw sophomore Grant Wragge start for the first time in his career. Newcomers in Zach Auguste and Chuol Biel have started each of the first five games. Auguste and Biel are being counted upon as pillars of the frontcourt. Auguste had a 16-point, nine-rebound performance in the 79-60 win over No. 25 St. Thomas University (Fla.) on Nov. 2. Meanwhile, Biel is an important piece as a post defender.
Aside from allowing the Chargers to net 16 3-point field goals over the weekend, Concordia has been solid on the defensive end, holding its first five opponents to an average of 68.0 points per game and to 41.8 percent shooting from the floor. No team has scored more than 81 points in a game against the Bulldogs so far. The focus right now is cutting down on dribble penetration by opposing backcourts.
Hastings has already played twice this season in Walz Arena having been part of the Cattle Classic field. As part of that event, the Broncos defeated both Barclay College (Kan.) and St. Thomas. The Broncos have rattled off six wins in a row since opening their season with an 86-72 loss to Friends University (Kan.) at the York College Invite. Head coach Bill Gavers’ squad is paced by Bart Hiscock, who averages 19.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Hastings opened up conference play by defeating Doane and Mount Marty.
Jamestown is in its first season as a GPAC member. The Jimmies got conference play started with a 104-98 home loss to Briar Cliff prior to a 90-60 blowout of Doane. Both contests took place in North Dakota. Concordia will have to be aware of sharpshooting guard Kevin Oberweiser’s presence on the court. He has averaged 22.3 points per game while sinking 28-of-49 (.571) attempts from 3-point range. Head coach Danny Neville’s squad has been lighting it up, ranking second nationally in field goal percentage (.546) and third in scoring average (104.2 ppg).
Projected lineups
(Scoring average in parentheses)
Concordia (3-2, 0-2 GPAC)
G – Brevin Sloup, Jr., 5-9 (15.8)
G – Grant Wragge, So., 6-2 (2.8)
F – Tanner Shuck, Jr., 6-4 (15.6)
F – Zach Auguste, Jr., 6-7 (7.8)
F – Chuol Biel, Jr., 6-8 (5.6)
Hastings (6-1, 2-0 GPAC)
G – Kevin Miller, Sr., 6-2 (19.0)
G – Logan Cale, Jr., 6-0 (5.9)
F – Shane Chamberlain, Fr., 6-6 (9.0)
F – Bart Hiscock, Jr., 6-6 (19.9)
F – Brendan Lipovsky, Jr., 6-4 (9.7)
Jamestown (5-1, 1-1 GPAC)
G – Isaiah Dobson, Jr., 6-2 (8.3)
G – Kevin Oberweiser, Sr., 6-2 (22.3)
G – Jon Purintun, Sr., 6-2 (19.2)
F – Brock Schrom, So., 6-8 (5.2)
F – Jack Talley, So., 6-5 (7.7)