HASTINGS, Neb. – The implementation of a 3-2 zone and full-court pressure allowed the Concordia University Men’s Basketball team to rally back from a 17-point deficit and make it a white-knuckler in Hastings on Wednesday (Jan. 17). With heart rates surging throughout Lynn Farrell Arena, Quinn Johnson canned a free throw with 3.1 seconds left, lifting Hastings to a 79-78 victory. The Bulldogs fell short against their in-state rival despite shooting 57.7 percent from the floor in the second half.
Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad slipped to 11-5 overall (6-4 GPAC) while up against the league’s first-place team. In the end, Reggie Thomas and company had just enough to edge Concordia.
“We challenged them at halftime,” Limback said. “We weren’t very tough in the first half. They’re a very physical team and their point guard Thomas is a heck of a player. He got it going in the first half, but I just didn’t think we had a very good mindset. We were fortunate enough to make some shots there to keep it within reach. I felt like our zone was active, but they would come and hit a big shot and we just couldn’t get over the hump. I felt like they were the tougher team and tougher teams usually win.”
The Broncos seemed to score at will throughout much of the first 20 minutes before the Bulldogs finally settled in with the help of the zone. Concordia began to limit easy buckets at the rim and climbed all the way back to tie it, 69-69, with roughly six minutes to play. Then, in the closing 30 seconds, Lukas Helms drove to the basket and completed a three-point play to pull the Bulldogs even again, 78-78. On the ensuing possession, Tristan Smith was whistled for a foul as he attempted to block Johnson’s driving layup. Johnson made one of two foul shots and Concordia failed to get much of a look before the buzzer sounded.
Even the presence of the Bulldogs’ league-best scoring group wasn’t enough to overcome what was a 54-37 deficit early in the second half. Concordia fell victim to the trio of Thomas (game-high 25 points), Tyrique McMurrin (20 points) and Danilo Matovic (19 points). Not only did that bunch combine for 64 points, it also grabbed 26 rebounds collectively. The dynamic Thomas played all 40 minutes for a side that relies mostly on its starting five.
The comeback effort resulted from a balanced Bulldog attack. Smith paced the team with 15 points while three others reached double figures: Noah Schutte (11), Jaxon Stueve (11) and Helms (10). Schutte now stands two points shy of 1,500 for his career. Stueve helped keep Concordia in it with a couple of early treys. The Bulldogs shot 50.7 percent (30-for-58) as a team and turned the ball over only seven times. Unfortunately, their defense and rebounding were not quite up to snuff on the road.
Said Limback, “We tried to get more up-tempo and get into transition. They got a little stagnant because of it. We were just trying to make them do something they weren’t used to doing. We weren’t very good in our interior defense. Once Reggie Thomas got it going, we had to do something defensively. We had to shift to change the rhythm of the game.”
A surprise GPAC leader at this point in the season, the Broncos’ lone league loss was an 81-76 home defeat at the hands of Morningside on Jan. 6. Hastings has now won back-to-back home matchups with Concordia. The Bronco win last season snapped what had been a 13-game series winning streak for the Bulldogs.
Concordia will make a return to Friedrich Arena for home action on Saturday. Tipoff with Briar Cliff (10-7, 4-5 GPAC) is slated for 3:45 p.m. CT in Seward. The Bulldogs managed to outlast the Chargers, 86-82, in overtime (behind a 34-point effort from Schutte) in the meeting that took place in Sioux City, Iowa, on Dec. 9. Concordia has won each of the past four series matchups with Briar Cliff.