SEWARD, Neb. – Three road trips outside of conference play are coming up on this week’s slate for the Concordia University men’s basketball team. A busy Thanksgiving week will get started on Monday with a venture to Waldorf University in Forest City, Iowa. The Bulldogs will quickly turn around and head to Grand Forks, N.D., for a 7 p.m. contest at NCAA Division I University of North Dakota on Tuesday (exhibition for Concordia; official regular-season game for North Dakota). Finally, Concordia will be at Peru State College on Saturday.
This Week
Monday, Nov. 19 at Waldorf University (3-3), 6 p.m.
-Webcast: Stretch Internet
-Radio: 104.9 Max Country
Tuesday, Nov. 20 at University of North Dakota (3-1), 7 p.m.
-TV: Fox Sports North
Saturday, Nov. 24 at Peru State College (4-0), 4 p.m.
-Webcast: Stretch Internet
-Radio: 104.9 Max Country
Head coach Ben Limback’s squad hopes to rebound from its 74-61 loss to Jamestown on Saturday. The performance was a complete reversal of the team’s offensive fortunes, as compared to the 92-87 overtime win over Hastings on Nov. 14. The Bulldogs shot 54.4 percent from the floor in the win over the Broncos, but slipped to 39.6 percent against Jamestown. Concordia started out 4-0 at home before this weekend. This week the Bulldogs will attempt to nail down their first road victory. They fell at the hands of Midland and No. 10 Briar Cliff in their first two road outings.
The loss to Jamestown meant that Limback will have to wait at least one more game to earn his 200th victory as a head coach. Now in his 15th season as a head coach (including nine seasons at Concordia University, Ann Arbor), Limback won 115 games with the Cardinals before transitioning to Seward. Limback is now 84-74 since returning to his alma mater prior to the 2013-14 season. His high water mark for wins in a season was 21 captured by the 2016-17 Bulldogs.
Concordia leans heavily upon juniors Tanner Shuck and Brevin Sloup for scoring production. Sloup played the role of hero in the overtime against Hastings. In that five-minute period, the Seward High School product put up 12 points while going 3-for-4 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Sloup is the team’s leader with an average of 16.0 points per game. While averaging 15.1 points, Shuck (811 career points) continues to move closer to becoming the program’s next 1,000-point scorer.
Waldorf, a member of the North Star Athletic Association, has already played two GPAC opponents. The Warriors endured a 72-61 loss to Dordt in their season opener and then regrouped with a 74-69 win over Mount Marty. Waldorf has struggled offensively, averaging 66.5 points and shooting 42.1 percent from the floor. Its top scorer is Brady Kuchinka (15.2 points per game).
North Dakota resides in The Summit League. Head coach Brian Jones’ squad recently played at the University of Kentucky with the result being a 96-58 loss for the Fighting Hawks. North Dakota is coming off a 12-20 record in 2017-18. It has held its first four opponents to just 38.7 percent shooting from the field. Its leading scorer is Cortez Seales (12.5 points per game).
Peru State of the Heart of America Athletic Conference is off to a 4-0 start that included a 71-70 win over Central Methodist University (Mo.) to open up conference play. At 6-foot-8, Lyle Hexom presents a matchup problem as someone who can step out and hit the three (13-for-26). He is averaging 23.3 points per game. The Bobcats advanced to the second round of last season’s NAIA Division I national tournament. Head coach Bob Ludwig’s squad was picked by league coaches to finish fourth out of the 13 teams in the HAAC.