Concordia tops Nebraska Wesleyan in renewal of old NIAC/GPAC rivalry

By Jacob Knabel on Nov. 2, 2024 in Men's Basketball

SEWARD, Neb. – Not since Nebraska Wesleyan’s former days as a GPAC member had the Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball program met up with the Prairie Wolves (other than scrimmages). Much like Friday’s contest, the 11th-ranked Bulldogs took time to find a rhythm before discovering some cracks in the Wesleyan zone defense. A 17-3 run in the second half carried Concordia to a 74-57 win on Saturday (Nov. 2) as part of the 25th annual Cattle Classic.

Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad defeated two NCAA Division III opponents on the weekend. Both Cattle Classic foes, Nebraska Wesleyan and Central College (Iowa), are members of the American Rivers Conference.

“It was a very physical game with both teams playing hard,” Limback said. “I thought first half we got a few good looks early and then had a couple careless turnovers, but overall I thought our defense was solid. Second half, I think we held them to 20 percent shooting. Their ability to get extra possessions kept them in it. I loved the grittiness. I thought Brayson Mueller came in and did some good things. Noah (Schutte) in the middle of their zone started finishing. We know we have to get better in certain areas.”

The aforementioned 17-3 surge broke what had been a 39-39 stalemate early in the second half. The Bulldogs got the battle they expected while up against a Prairie Wolve program coming off an NCAA Division III Elite Eight appearance led by star guard Carter Glenn. Brad Bennett and Zac Kulus drained a trey apiece during the run that staked Concordia to a 56-42 advantage midway through the second half. The largest lead for the Bulldogs was reflected in the final score.

A day after struggling with Central’s star big man, Concordia owned a 47-31 advantage on the boards over Wesleyan. Schutte produced 16 points and seven rebounds while Tristan Smith collected 12 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals. A human highlight reel, Smith added to his list of ‘wow’ moments with an acrobatic, spinning layup in the second half. Other major contributors included Bennett (eight points, six rebounds and six assists), Jaxon Stuve (eight points and two assists), Kulus (six points) and Brooks Kissinger (six points and five rebounds).

With a week prior to the next outing, the Bulldogs can now assess where they stand in the early going. Said Limback, “We need to figure out what things worked really well this weekend and things that didn’t. We have a lot of depth and you have to figure out combinations. I think we need a week to really develop some things that we need to improve on like ball security and some things we weren’t sharp on all the time. Having a week will be good for us.”

The Prairie Wolves (26-5 in 2023-24), ranked No. 14 at the D3 level, got a game high 19 points from Glenn, who was named to the All-Cattle Classic team. Jack Groeteke supplied 10 points and five rebounds. Notably, current Concordia assistant Ryan Tegtmeier formerly worked under Nebraska Wesleyan Head Coach Dale Wellman.

The homestand to open the 2024-25 season will continue next Saturday (Nov. 9) when Bethel College (Kan.) (4-0) makes a visit to Friedrich Arena for a 1 p.m. CT tipoff. The Threshers compete as a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. Concordia and Bethel most recently squared off during the 2014-15 season in a matchup that took place in Newton, Kan.

2024 All-Cattle Classic Men’s Team

Carter Glenn, Nebraska Wesleyan
DaRon Hall, Hastings
Noah Schutte, Concordia
Tristan Smith, Concordia
Joshua Van Gorp, Central