SEWARD, Neb. – The Mustangs shot 51.7 percent from the field and the Bulldogs shot 31.0 percent. That basically sums up the story of Saturday afternoon’s (Jan. 6) contest inside Walz Arena. Three days after a pulse pounding overtime win at Doane, the Concordia University men’s basketball team couldn’t overcome its offensive struggles in an 80-57 loss at the hands of visiting Morningside.
The defeat put a halt to an 11-game home winning streak for fifth-year head coach Ben Limback’s program. The Bulldogs slipped to 12-4 overall and to 5-3 in conference play.
What had been a reasonably competitive first half faded into a frustrating second half for the home team. By the 9:51 mark, the Mustangs (13-4, 5-2 GPAC) built a 20-point lead (59-39). A much more effective Morningside offense flowed through big man Tyler Borchers (14 points, seven rebounds), who helped set up gunner Brody Egger from 3-point range. Egger drained four treys and finished with 12 points.
The only player keeping Concordia’s offense afloat in the first half was Wednesday’s hero Cordell Gillingham. Eleven of his team high 13 points came during the first 20 minutes. No other Bulldogs reached double figures, although Jake Hornick (nine points, six rebounds) and Brevin Sloup (nine points) came close. Sloup went 3-for-5 from 3-point range, but the rest of the team went 4-for-27 from beyond the arc.
Four Morningside starters put up more than 10 points, including Zach Imig (15 points, seven rebounds) and Alex Borchers (14 points, seven rebounds). They helped provide plenty of offense for a Mustang squad that possessed a double digit lead for the final 12-and-a-half minutes of action. The spread grew as large as 28 points. Not only did Concordia get significantly outshot, it got outrebounded, 43-31.
The Bulldogs will be back at home on Wednesday (Jan. 10) to welcome fifth-ranked Briar Cliff (17-2, 6-1 GPAC) to Walz Arena. Tipoff in Seward is set for 8 p.m. CT. The Chargers had owned Concordia’s number until Limback’s squad broke through with an 87-79 home win last season over Briar Cliff, the eventual conference champion.