Season-best scoring splurge sends Vogt out a winner
SEWARD, Neb. – With a berth in the GPAC tournament already off the table entering the weekend, the Concordia men’s basketball team looked to finish strong for senior Adam Vogt. The Bulldog offense broke out in time to snap a five-game losing streak as they defeated Northwestern, 95-75, inside Walz Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The win bumped the Bulldogs to 8-20 overall and 3-16 in the GPAC and provided a perfect send off for Vogt, who played the final home game of his career.
“If you’re going to pick a time to win it may as well be your last one at home,” Vogt said.
Using a more up-tempo style on Saturday, Concordia piled up a season high point total. The Bulldogs really heated up over the last 10:57 of game time, outscoring Northwestern 33-16 during that stretch. Chandler Folkerts, who amassed all 19 of his points in the second half, punctuated the spurt with a crowd-roaring two-handed slam over a Red Raider defender.
Folkerts was one of six Bulldogs to reach double figures in scoring. Concordia shot an efficient 52.5 percent from the field and assisted 24 of its 31 made field goals.
“We started to get some confidence towards the middle of the second half,” first-year head coach Ben Limback said. “That’s something that we’ve really been struggling with all year – getting some swagger and some confidence to shoot it and score.”
Down 44-43 at the half, Limback talked to his frontcourt players about being more aggressive over the final 20 minutes. Folkerts answered the call. He scored on five-straight possessions at one point during the second half in a dominant stretch.
But he was not alone. Vogt dropped 17 points, including a momentum-building 25-footer to beat the first half buzzer. In addition, Robby Thomas added 13 points and six rebounds and Joel Haywood, Micah Kohlwey and Aaron Walker each chipped in 11 points. Haywood also dished out seven dimes.
“In the first half they were letting us shoot threes like crazy,” Vogt said. “They were really trying to sag in. We didn’t have very good movement but we were hitting shots. In the second half the floodgates kind of opened up in the last 10 minutes. They tried to press but we handled it well and broke it.
“Chandler Folkerts was just a beast.”
Vogt exited the game with under two minutes remaining and received a standing ovation from the large crowd at Walz. Over 104 career games, the native of Syracuse, Neb., has totaled 898 points.
“He’s a warrior,” Limback said. “He’s been the heart and soul of our team this year, keeping us competitive and focused. Right now we have nothing in terms of the conference tournament to play for and this just shows the makeup of the team and the character of Adam Vogt.”
Concordia finished 12-for-19 from beyond the arc. Kohlwey, Thomas and Vogt each drained three treys apiece.
Northwestern (14-14, 7-11 GPAC), still battling to make the eight-team GPAC tournament, remained in ninth place after the loss. The Red Raiders shot 47.1 percent and got 17 points from leading scorer Zack Leeper.
The Bulldogs have a week off before concluding the 2013-14 season next Saturday at Morningside (20-8, 14-4 GPAC). In the season’s first meeting, the Mustangs won 85-67 in Seward. Morningside triumphed 95-82 at Doane on Saturday. Next week will mark the final game of Vogt’s collegiate career.