YANKTON, S.D. – A matchup between teams at opposite ends of the GPAC standings resulted in frustration for the 23rd-ranked Concordia University Men’s Basketball team. Despite a career high performance from Carter Kent, the Bulldogs did not pass the test in Yankton, S.D. Tyrell Harper and Mount Marty celebrated an upset victory in overtime, 70-67, on Wednesday (Jan. 5) night.
The loss halted a four-game league win streak for Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad, which began the day leading the conference standings. Concordia slipped to 14-4 overall (7-3 GPAC).
“I didn’t think we moved the ball well tonight,” Limback said. “We didn’t have a collective group performance offensively. I thought Carter had a great game to push us, but we didn’t get a lot of rhythm shots. Defensively we did some good things, enough to win. Offensively we didn’t play as a team. I’ve got to make sure we do better having multiple threats out there. I didn’t think we were a team offensively tonight.”
This was a second league game in a row in which the Bulldogs were unable to dictate tempo and get loose in transition the way they like to. Unlike the 60-50 win over Doane four days earlier, Concordia wasn’t able to pull out a slog of a contest. Kent nearly saved the day with his career high 35-point outing. He nailed a clutch trey that pushed the Bulldog lead to 61-57 with 1:31 left in regulation. Harper then emerged for the Lancers with two buckets in the paint to force the overtime.
Although it made only one field goal in overtime, Concordia held a 66-65 lead with less than a minute to go before Harper put the Lancers in front for good. Down 67-66 with a chance to win in the final seconds, the Bulldogs committed a costly turnover (one of 16 on the night).
Kent simply did not have enough help on the offensive end. The Crete High School product solidified himself inside the top 10 of the program’s all-time scoring list (1,452 career points) while finding the bottom of the net in virtually every way imaginable on Wednesday. Kent made 10-of-20 shots from the floor (4-for-7 from 3-point range) and drained 11-of-12 attempts from the foul line. He added three blocked shots.
Harper’s monster night included 25 points, eight rebounds, seven blocks, four assists and three steals. Elijah Pappas backed him up with 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. The Lancers (5-14, 1-9 GPAC) picked up their first league win of the season while shooting 39.1 percent (25-for-64) from the floor.
The second leading scorer following Kent was Sam Scarpelli, who produced eight points (3-for-5 shooting) off the bench. Justin Wiersema added seven points, six rebounds and two steals, Noah Schutte contributed six points and six rebounds and Gage Smith collected five points and six rebounds. The Bulldogs had the advantage on the boards (37-30) but shot just 38.9 percent (21-for-54) from the field.
The Bulldogs will welcome Dakota Wesleyan (6-9, 3-5 GPAC) to town on Saturday for a 3:45 p.m. CT matchup inside Friedrich Arena. The two sides last met in the quarterfinals of the 2021 GPAC tournament with the Tigers earning the win, 70-58. DWU, which won two of three from Concordia last season, will be coming off a 76-64 home loss to Briar Cliff.