SEWARD, Neb. – After playing three in a row outside of the conference, the Concordia University men’s basketball team is looking ahead to a pair of GPAC clashes this week. The Bulldogs hope to build upon their 109-60 home blowout win over Peru State College this past week. Concordia will ring in 2020 by playing at No. 19 Northwestern on Thursday before hosting Dordt on Saturday.
This Week
Thursday, Jan. 2 at (19) Northwestern (13-3, 5-1 GPAC), 8 p.m.
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Saturday, Jan. 4 vs. Dordt (12-4, 4-3 GPAC), 4 p.m.
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Head coach Ben Limback’s squad shook out of an offensive slump last week by thumping Peru State. That result gave the Bulldogs back-to-back victories, including the 59-57 triumph over Menlo College (Calif.) in game two of the Hoop N Surf Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. After a very brief break for Christmas, Concordia shot 57.1 percent from the floor while throttling the Bobcats. Senior point guard Brevin Sloup went wild with 20 of his game high 26 points coming after halftime. Sloup drained 7-of-11 shots from 3-point range. Sloup also emerged with the game-winning basket versus Menlo.
Sloup is working his way closer to becoming the program’s 31st member of the 1,000-point club. The Seward High School product has racked up 924 points. He earned second team All-GPAC honors last season when he averaged a team high 16.4 points per game. Meanwhile, senior Tanner Shuck has moved up to 16th on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,281 career points. The Grand Island native needs 126 more points to climb into the top 10 on that list. Shuck (11.3 ppg) is currently the team’s third leading scorer behind Sloup (15.2) and Carter Kent (13.4).
While the Bulldogs continue to seek more consistency on offense (ranked 10th in the GPAC in scoring), they have been up to the task on the defensive end. They currently rank third in the conference in field goal percentage defense (.417). Chuol Biel is the GPAC leader in blocked shots with 27 (1.93 per game). Concordia has allowed only one of its opponents to score more than 77 points.
Northwestern has been a consistent winner under Kris Korver, now in his 20th season as the program’s head coach. The Red Raiders missed out on the national tournament last season, but they could be headed back in 2020. Since a loss at Dordt on Nov. 20, Northwestern has won four-straight GPAC games. The star of the show is junior guard Trent Hilbrands, who is averaging 18.1 points while shooting 46.8 percent from 3-point range. The Red Raiders possess the GPAC’s third most prolific offense at 90.4 points per game. They have won seven-consecutive meetings with the Bulldogs.
Brian Van Haaften spent more than 20 years at NCAA Division III Buena Vista University before taking over as head coach at Dordt prior to last season. The Defenders, who have not played since beating University of California-Merced on Dec. 21, will shake off the rust on Thursday by hosting Doane. Dordt has a balanced offensive attack that features four starters who average in double figures, led by the 15.6 points per game of Garrett Franken. The home team won both of last season’s meetings between the Defenders and Bulldogs.
GPAC play will continue next with a matchup at Hastings on Jan. 8 and a home date with Jamestown on Jan. 11.
Projected Lineups
Concordia (9-5, 2-4 GPAC)
G – Brevin Sloup, Sr., 5-9 (15.2)
G – Justin Wiersema, So., 6-3 (8.7)
G – Carter Kent, So., 6-2 (13.4)
F – Tanner Shuck, Sr., 6-4 (11.3)
F – Chuol Biel, Sr., 6-8 (6.2)
Northwestern (13-3, 5-1 GPAC)
G – Trent Hilbrands, Jr., 6-0 (18.1)
G – Jay Small, Jr., 6-2 (14.7)
G – Keegan Van Egdom, Jr., 6-2 (7.9)
G – Isaac Heyer, Jr., 6-3 (7.5)
F – Craig Sterk, So., 6-7 (14.1)
Dordt (12-4, 4-3 GPAC)
G – Ben Gesink, Jr., 6-3 (6.5)
G – Jesse Jansma, Jr., 6-4 (14.0)
G – Chad Barkema, Sr., 6-5 (10.6)
F – Cade Bleeker, Fr., 6-5 (10.8)
F – Garrett Franken, Jr., 6-7 (15.6)