SIOUX CITY, Iowa – In a renewal of a series that has featured wild buzzer-beating finishes in recent seasons, Concordia-Briar Cliff went down to the wire once again. After relinquishing a 16-point second-half lead, the Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Basketball team managed to eke out an 84-80 overtime win over the Chargers at the Newman Flanagan Center on Saturday (Jan. 11). The Bulldogs followed the lead of Tristan Smith, who powered his way to a career-high 37 points.
Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad has won seven-straight GPAC games (and nine of 10 overall) while moving to 13-4 (8-3 GPAC) on the season. Concordia swept the season series from Briar Cliff.
“We knew they weren’t going to go away,” Limback said. “I just think we were a little sloppy at times and didn’t make the easy plays. But I’m so proud of the team. Tristan Smith – what a performance in both halves. He showed his ability to finish at the rim and play off two feet. I thought Lukas Helms had a great first half, but really the story was Tristan had his way in the second half and overtime.”
Smith saved the day. He totaled 12 of the team’s final 14 points in regulation and then eight of his side’s 11 points in overtime while besting his previous career-high of 35 points. Smith’s fourth paint bucket of the extra session made it an 83-80 Bulldog advantage with 1:20 left to play. The final three Charger offensive possessions featured a pair of missed 3-point tries (both rebounded by Smith) and a turnover. Brad Bennett provided the game’s final tally with a free throw that made it a two-possession spread.
The heroics of Smith helped cover up a rough stretch of play in the second half for the visitors. Separate runs of 11-0 and 7-0 by Briar Cliff finally gave the home team the lead, 67-66, at the 6:02 mark of the second half. The Chargers erased what had been a 52-36 Concordia lead just a few minutes after halftime. In a nail-biting finish to regulation, Briar Cliff’s Matthew Stilwill knotted the game, 73-73, with a driving layup. The Bulldogs never trailed in overtime.
Smith racked up his 37 points on 15-for-20 shooting from the floor and 7-for-10 shooting from the foul line. He added six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots to his stat line. Other double figure scorers for Concordia were Bennett (14) and Noah Schutte (13). Fresh off becoming the Bulldogs’ all-time leading scorer, Schutte grabbed 11 rebounds and picked up his fifth double-double of the season. As a team, Concordia shot 53.0 percent (35-for-66) from the floor.
Briar Cliff (9-8, 4-5 GPAC) had three players score 20 or more points: Stilwill (23), Wil Lugar (20) and Blake Sindelar (20). A team known for perimeter shooting, the Chargers went 10-for-34 (.294) from beyond the arc on Saturday. Briar Cliff negated its 37-31 rebound disadvantage by turning the ball over five fewer times than Concordia. The result marked the second year in a row that the Chargers have fallen in overtime at home to the Bulldogs (86-82 final score last season).
Said Limback, “I thought our leadership was great today. Any time you go into overtime and they have the momentum, it’s tough. We came out and played well in overtime with guys being fatigued. We got some big buckets and a big free throw by Brad. These are the moments you want to be in and we answered the bell, fortunately … We’ve been playing some good basketball. I know this team’s not done. There’s a lot of greatness on this team.”
The Bulldogs will be back home on Wednesday to welcome Mount Marty (7-9, 4-6 GPAC) to Friedrich Arena for a 7:45 p.m. CT tipoff. Concordia took both 2023-24 meetings from the Lancers. The two sides have not yet played this season. In Saturday's action, Mount Marty fell by an 84-69 score at No. 11 Dordt.