YANKTON, S.D. – The Concordia University men’s basketball team rode the wave of a 24-2 run and a dominant inside game for a comfortable conference road victory. The Bulldogs shot a sizzling 60.8 percent from the floor while sending host Mount Marty to another defeat, 82-61.
Fourth-year head coach Ben Limback’s squad has won five-straight games and has improved its record to 17-8 overall and to 6-7 in conference play. The last four victories have all come by margins of greater than 20 points.
“I felt like we set the tone defensively in the first half,” Limback said. “I thought our guys played hard defensively for the majority of the game. They only had seven points with about five minutes left in the first half. Our guys came to work today and I was proud of their effort overall.”
Chandler Folkerts (19 points) and Clay Reimers (15 points) worked beautifully inside. They combined to go 13-for-16 from the floor. The lanky 6-foot-7 Reimers even dished out four assists. The product of Lincoln East High School has now posted back-to-back 15-point games.
That duo had a lot to do with Concordia jumping out to a 34-7 lead that left the Lancers (4-20, 0-14 GPAC) playing catch up all night.
“Clay gave some great minutes again off the bench,” Limback said. “It was fun to see him and Chandler connect on some high-low. They were really overplaying the perimeter and collapsing on Chandler when we did have opportunities to throw it in. I thought Clay did a great job making reads from the high post and also posting himself. Chandler made some great passes. It was good to see those two guys connect.”
Mount Marty made a second half charge that whittled the Bulldog lead down to 13 (60-47) after Zane Schumaker’s trey with 9:05 left in the game. Concordia promptly responded with a 10-0 run that included a 6-for-6 free throw effort. Folkerts put home six points during the splurge that essentially put the game away.
The Lancers’ field goal percentage of 33.9 was a season low for Bulldog opponents. Hunter Martin (game high 24 points) did most of the damage for Mount Marty, which went only 6-for-21 (.286) from 3-point range. Said Limback, “I really feel like our team is starting to come together defensively and it’s a nice time of the year to do that.”
Eli Ziegler (10 points) joined Folkerts and Reimers in double figures. Jake Hornick added eight points off the bench and Seth Curran totaled seven points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Concordia’s efficiency in the paint meant it relied very little upon the 3-point shot (3-for-14).
The Bulldogs have now won five games in a row for the second time this season. They are 10-2 over their past 12 outings. They moved to 4-4 in true road games.
The Bulldogs will play at home for the eighth time in nine outings when they welcome Doane (12-14, 3-11 GPAC) to Walz for an 8 p.m. CT tipoff on Wednesday. Concordia is looking to even the season series after dropping a nailbiter, 80-77, at Doane on Nov. 22. The Bulldogs are 12-3 at home this season.