JAMESTOWN, N.D. – This was the type of win special seasons are made of. In a showdown in North Dakota on Saturday (Jan. 15), the 25th-ranked Concordia University Men’s Basketball team relinquished a 17-point lead and then showed the resolve to make the plays down the stretch. Behind a 26-point outing from Carter Kent, the Bulldogs held off No. 11 Jamestown, 82-79, for the program’s first road win over a ranked opponent since the 2020 GPAC tournament title game at the Corn Palace.
With the victory, Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad keeps pace near the top of the conference standings at 9-3 in the GPAC (16-4 overall). On the other hand, this was a critical blow to the Jimmies, who have endured five league losses, including two at the hands of Concordia.
“It was a fun celebration,” Limback said of the postgame locker room. “It was two good teams going at it with a great ending by us. Our guys were all pumped. I’m proud of our bench too. They were amazing with their energy before, during and after. Our guys have worked hard and they wanted this after coming all this way.”
The Bulldogs were faced with adverse situations in the second half that perhaps only a veteran, battle-tested team like themselves could have managed through. Instead of being demoralized by the swing of momentum, Concordia charged back with the aid of the likes of Kent, AJ Watson and Tristan Smith off the bench. With game tied at 72-72 late in the game, Kent emerged with a pair of free throws and then a bucket in the lane. Jamestown still wouldn’t go away in a contest in which neither team led by more than six points the entire second half.
Leading 80-77 in the closing 30 seconds, the Bulldogs left the door open a crack when Justin Wiersema missed the front end of a one-and-one. He quickly made amends on the ensuing possession by stealing the post feed to Mason Walters, putting the game on ice. A year earlier, Concordia felt like it let one get away at Jamestown in similar circumstances.
“We got off to a fantastic start and the game changed a little bit physically,” Limback said. “The free throw line kept them in it in the first half. Second half was kind of back and forth. They went on a spurt. Out of a timeout, I felt like we went back to how we started the game. Carter was really, really good and made amazing plays down the stretch for us. He made some great winning plays beyond the stat sheet and guarded their best guard on the other end. Tristan Smith was huge off the bench and I thought AJ Watson was really good.”
Kent went 8-for-15 from the floor (8-for-8 from the foul line) while reaching the 20-point mark for the seventh time this season. Watson had already reached double figures less than seven minutes into the game and finished with 16 points (7-for-14 from the floor). Tristin Smith collected 10 points off the bench and Wiersema contributed nine points, three assists and three steals. Super seniors Ryan Holt and Sam Scarpelli chipped in with six points each as the Bulldogs shot 48.4 percent (30-for-62) from the floor.
Concordia won despite the usual eye-popping numbers from Jimmie star Mason Walters, who totaled 32 points and 14 rebounds. The Bulldogs combated his performance by surrendering only three treys and by competing much better on the boards, as compared to the first meeting with Jamestown (16-5, 6-5 GPAC). This time around, the Jimmies had only a 37-34 rebound advantage.
Said Limback, “I was really proud of our guys for hanging in there with the game plan. We didn’t shoot well from three in the second half, which made it tougher … What a steal by Justin there at the end. We’re fortunate to get a win on the road.”
The Bulldogs will get another crack at Morningside (10-6, 7-4 GPAC) on Wednesday when the two sides square off at 7:45 p.m. CT from Friedrich Arena. Back on Dec. 1, the Mustangs edged Concordia, 79-77, in Sioux City, Iowa. Morningside has won each of the past 12 meetings with the Bulldogs and will be aiming to rebound from a 72-71 overtime loss to Doane at the buzzer on Saturday.