Wegener caps big weekend in loss to No. 19 Bellevue
By Taylor Mueller, Sports Information Assistant
YORK, Neb. – The Concordia men’s basketball team dropped its second-straight game of the young season, falling to No. 19 Bellevue University, 93-76, on Saturday afternoon. It was the team’s second and final game of the York College Tip Off Classic in York, Neb.
The Bulldogs competed early, managing to stay close until 12:53 remained in the first half when Bellevue would go on a 19-0 run to set the tone for the rest of the game. Concordia headed into the half trailing 53-32.
The Bulldogs struggled from the field, connecting on just 10 of 29 field goals and went 3 for 13 from 3-point land. Bellevue’s hot shooting from the field and intense defensive pressure were keys in building the comfortable first half lead.
“In the first half we really dug ourselves a hole,” head coach Ben Limback said. “Offensively we weren’t scoring and we were turning the ball over. Our effort level defensively dropped off because of our offensive struggles. Bellevue’s got a lot of offensive weapons so our lack of effort on the defensive end, especially on the glass hit us pretty hard.”
Although momentum was hard to come by, Concordia was able to turn things around in the second half, outscoring the Bruins, 44-40. Senior guard Adam Vogt heated up and led the Bulldog charge with 14 second half points.
Sophomore forward Max Wegner added to his impressive weekend as he chipped in with 11 second half points. The Bulldogs shot much better from the floor, knocking in 18 shots on 34 tries, good enough for a 52.9 percentage.
“We competed better in the second half,” Limback said. “We still couldn’t make the plays defensively that could spark us and cut the deficit to a reasonable amount. We couldn’t get the stop down the stretch to get back in the game.”
Wegner and Vogt carried the Bulldogs offensively throughout the game, finishing with 20 and 19 points, respectively. Wegner’s nine boards were enough to lead the team. In his last two games, Wegner is averaging just under a double-double with 39 total points and 19 rebounds.
Early season action will be back in full swing on Friday, Nov. 8 when Concordia takes on Culver-Stockton (Mo.) in its opening game of the Cattle Classic at 8 p.m. inside Walz Arena.
