Game notes: Bulldogs look for second-straight GPAC win in Friday home contest

SEWARD, Neb. – The Bulldogs end a stretch of four-straight home games when they host Dakota Wesleyan (7-7, 1-4 GPAC) at 8 p.m. on Friday. Concordia will aim for its second-consecutive GPAC victory after topping Mount Marty, 81-67, on Dec. 14. First-year head coach Ben Limback’s squad is 4-8 overall and sits in eighth place in the GPAC standings with a 2-5 league mark.

The game will be streamed live and free online via the Concordia Sports Network. Lucas Mohrman will handle the play-by-play duties.

Evenly-matched
Concordia and Dakota Wesleyan have won two games apiece over the past four meetings in Seward since February 2010. The Tigers earned a season sweep of the Bulldogs last season on the heels of Concordia’s sweep in the 2011-12 campaign. In the most recent matchup inside Walz Arena, Dakota Wesleyan won 75-65 by holding the Bulldogs to 32.8 percent shooting from the field. The Tigers got a game high 25 points from then senior guard Mike Lee.

Last 10 meetings:
1/20/13 – Dakota Wesleyan 79-63 (Mitchell)
12/8/12 – Dakota Wesleyan 75-65 (Seward)
1/21/12 – Concordia 67-62 (Seward)
12/10/11 – Concordia 80-78 OT (Mitchell)
1/16/11 – Dakota Wesleyan 92-64 (Mitchell)
12/4/10 – Concordia 82-71 (Seward)
2/6/10 – Dakota Wesleyan 73-63 (Seward)
12/5/09 – Dakota Wesleyan 78-64 (Mitchell)
2/28/09 – Dakota Wesleyan 83-64 (Mitchell)
2/18/09 – Dakota Wesleyan 75-68 (Mitchell) 

Last week
Limback’s crew split a pair of GPAC home contests. It responded to an 83-57 loss to Nebraska Wesleyan on Dec. 11 with an 81-67 victory over Mount Marty three days later. Freshman Chandler Folkerts, a Milford High School product had a monster week with a combined 41 points on 14-for-17 shooting. In the loss to Wesleyan he put a career high 23 points and then followed that performance up with 18 points on 7-for-7 shooting in only 17 minutes of action. Junior guard Joel Haywood, who returned from injury in the victory at Doane on Dec. 4, showed he’s close to full speed by collecting 10 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes to help the Bulldogs get past the Lancers.

Comfort in 80
Good things happen when Concordia reaches 80 points or more, as evidenced by last week’s triumph. Folkerts and the Bulldogs are now 4-1 when reaching that total and 1-7 when they do not. On the season Concordia is 10th in a high-scoring conference with an average of 75.2 points per game. In addition, in three of the four victories, the Bulldogs have held their opponents below 80 points.

Folkerts can’t miss
Freshman Chandler Folkerts has made a seamless transition from Milford High School to the collegiate game. He’s proved especially adept offensively after catching the ball on the interior. Folkerts is converting 70.9 percent (56-for-79) from the field, which would rank second in the GPAC and third nationally, however, he is just short of the five field goal makes per game required to qualify for the leaderboards. He also shoots an impressive 70.8 percent from the free throw line for a big man. On the season, Folkerts is second on the team with 12.2 points per game. He has scored in double figures in six-straight games.

Vogt surpasses career highs
In only 12 games, senior Adam Vogt has already set career season highs for points (195), free throws makes (69) and free throw attempts (77). Increased playing time (team high 30.2 minutes per game) and good health have allowed the Syracuse, Neb., native to establish himself as one of the top shooters in the GPAC. He is averaging a career best 16.3 points per game on the strength of 38.2 percent 3-point shooting (13th in the GPAC) and 89.6 percent free throw shooting (4th in the GPAC; 12th in the nation). He has gone 12-for-25 (.480) from beyond the arc over the last five games.

Scouting Dakota Wesleyan
Like Concordia, Dakota Wesleyan (7-7, 1-4 GPAC) has played a difficult early-season schedule, particularly within GPAC play. The Tigers have been competitive in losses at then No. 16 Midland (84-77) and to then No. 12 Dordt (92-81) in recent weeks. First-year head coach Matt Wilber’s squad picked up its first victory in GPAC action by defeating Doane 85-78 on Dec. 14. Dakota Wesleyan owns one win over a top 25 foe having knocked off in-state rival Dakota State on Nov. 13. The Tigers lean upon 6-foot-7 junior forward Jalen Voss (19.5 ppg) as well as impressive freshman point guard Tate Martin, who tops the GPAC with 7.1 assists per contest. With Martin running the show, the Tigers rank 11th in NAIA Division II with a 1.37 assist-to-turnover ratio while also ranking 13th in 3-point field goals per game (8.6).