MITCHELL, S.D. – Host Dakota Wesleyan shot a sizzling 60.6 percent in the first half and then somehow matched that performance by shooting 66.7 percent in the second half. Those numbers made for a humbling evening at the Corn Palace for the Concordia University men’s basketball team on Saturday (Dec. 15). The Bulldogs suffered their largest margin of defeat this season, 102-56, at the hands of the 18th-ranked Tigers.
Sixth-year head coach Ben Limback’s squad now sits at 7-7 overall and at 1-7 in league play. Concordia has dropped five GPAC games in a row.
Dakota Wesleyan (10-3, 6-3 GPAC) got much too comfortable from the perimeter. The Tigers shot 18-for-33 (.545) from 3-point range while keeping on the throttle. Star Ty Hoglund poured in a game high 29 points on 11-for-17 shooting from the floor. Eight of his teammates knocked down at least one 3-point field goal.
The time off during finals week did not cure the Bulldog shooting struggles from beyond the arc. They went 3-for-19 on long range attempts. The team’s most effective scorer was freshman Carter Kent, who notched a Concordia high 15 points on 6-for-14 shooting. The rest of the team was a combined 16-for-40 from the field. Chuol Biel (10 points in 15 minutes) was the only other Bulldog in double figures.
Hoglund did not have to do it alone. Nick Harden enjoyed a big night that included 16 points, nine assists and seven steals. Samuel McCloud stroked four 3-point shots and totaled 14 points. Off the bench, Koln Oppold netted 11 points. The Tigers owned advantages in the rebound (31-25) and turnover (9-14) departments.
Dakota Wesleyan owned a big advantage in the backcourt. It held Concordia top scorers Tanner Shuck and Brevin Sloup to five points apiece. Shuck went 1-for-5 from the field. The Bulldogs fell into an early hole and never recovered. A Kent 3-point bucket just after halftime made it a 13-point game (46-33) before the wheels came off.
The Bulldogs will now break for Christmas. Next up on the schedule is the Arizona Christian Holiday Classic (Dec. 28-29) in Phoenix, Ariz. Concordia will play host Arizona Christian University and MacEwan University (Canada) during its stay in the desert. Conference play will pick back up after New Year’s Day.