Bulldogs visit Doane on Tuesday in search of third straight win
Concordia University and Doane College meet on Tuesday evening to continue play in GPAC basketball. Tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. in Crete.
The Bulldogs improved to 6-5 on the year with a 93-88 win in overtime over York College this past Friday evening. It was the second straight overtime victory for the Bulldogs, who also slipped by Dakota Wesleyan in overtime on December 10.
Porter Birtell, last week’s GPAC Player-of-the-Week, has posted 30+ points in consecutive games to lead Concordia to the two wins. He scored a career-high 36 points against DWU and followed with 32 points and 12 rebounds against York College. The junior post now averages 18.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. His 18.1 points per game is good for second in the GPAC, trailing only Jake Shipley of Briar Cliff (18.8 ppg). Brian Towner, who missed the first 10 games of the season, returned against York College and finished with totals of 19 points and seven rebounds. With the addition of Towner, the Bulldogs are finally at full strength and are looking to make a run in GPAC play. The Bulldogs are just 2-4 in the GPAC so far this year.
Doane has been up and down this season. The Tigers won three straight to open the season, but then lost three of their next four games. Doane then won three of their next four, but have struggled again as of late. The Tigers lost three straight in conference play to Mount Marty (64-56), Midland (81-64) and Morningside (84-75), but did turn things around with an 82-69 win over Dakota Wesleyan on December 17. Doane brings an 8-7 overall record with a 3-4 GPAC mark into Tuesday’s contest.
The Tigers have been balanced offensively so far this year. Nick Reed scores a team-high 17.9 points per game. Reed is third in the conference in scoring. Josh Riser adds 12.4 points per game, while Jens Scholl delivers 11.5 points per contest. Scholl has scored 13.7 points per game during conference play.
The Tiger Sports Network will cover the game with a video webcast found at the link below.
Concordia University will take part in the Tabor College Holiday Tournament on December 30-31.