SEWARD, Neb. – After a pair of conference losses to open up the new year, the Concordia University men’s basketball team seeks a return to the win column. Two GPAC opportunities await the Bulldogs this week as the second go-round through league action gets underway. Sixth-year head coach Ben Limback’s squad will be at Hastings on Wednesday before coming back home to host sixth-ranked Briar Cliff on Saturday.
This Week
Wednesday, Jan. 9 at Hastings (12-6, 5-5), 8 p.m.
-Webcast: Stretch Internet
-Radio: 104.9 Max Country
Saturday, Jan. 12 vs. No. 6 Briar Cliff (14-3, 8-2), 4 p.m.
-Webcast: Concordia Sports Network
-Radio: 104.9 Max Country
A number of personnel changes have taken place in recent outings, in part due to injuries, other circumstances and the rise of the freshman class. Eight freshmen played in last week’s loss at Dordt and another six saw action in the home defeat at the hands of Northwestern. Carter Kent has been the most prominent among the rookies and has notched 12 points or more in three of the past five games. The Bulldogs have also added to their depth with the in-season addition of transfer Sammy Adjei, who has averaged 7.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in his first four career games with Concordia.
Without question the Bulldogs are a much better team when the shots are falling for top scorers Tanner Shuck and Brevin Sloup. After a bout with the flu limited him to 13 minutes at Dordt, Shuck looked more like himself against Northwestern, draining 3-of-4 shots from 3-point range. The Grand Island, Neb., native surpassed 200 career 3-point field goals and now needs 29 points to become the 30th 1,000-point scorer in program history. Sloup has the next most career points on the active roster with 502.
The GPAC skid has reached seven since Sloup powered Concordia to a 92-87 overtime win over Hastings on Nov. 14. During the current streak, the Bulldogs have dropped five of those contests by double digit margins. Concordia enters the second half of the GPAC season with work to do if it is to qualify for the conference tournament. As it stands, the Bulldogs are two games behind the two squads tied for eighth – Doane and Midland, both 3-7 in the GPAC. Concordia could use a breakout offensive performance. It has shot less than 45 percent from the field in seven-straight games.
Hastings has been competitive with virtually everyone in the league. The Broncos followed up their loss at Concordia by winning at then 17th-ranked Dakota Wesleyan, 79-77. They also dropped a 106-103 overtime decision to Briar Cliff on a neutral court. Head coach Bill Gavers’ outfit is paced by two stars in particular – Kevin Miller and Bart Hiscock, who combine to average 37.8 points per game. Hastings is seeking to end a five-game series losing streak against the Bulldogs.
Briar Cliff is getting along admirably in the absence of Erich Erdman, who has been sidelined by injury since Dec. 5. There’s still a nice pool of talent at the disposal of head coach Mark Svagera. Guard Jay Wolfe tops the team in scoring (22.0), rebounds (6.8), assists (3.24) and steals (1.59). The Chargers can fill it up. Nationally, they rank second in 3-point field goals (13.2), seventh in free throw percentage (.791), ninth in scoring (91.8), 11th in 3-point field goal percentage (.405) and 13th in field goal percentage (.496).
Projected lineups
(Scoring average in parentheses)
Concordia (8-10, 1-9 GPAC)
G – Brevin Sloup, Jr., 5-9 (15.8)
G – Carter Kent, Fr., 6-2 (9.1)
G – Tanner Shuck, Jr., 6-4 (14.8)
G – Justin Wiersema, Fr., 6-3 (3.6)
F – Sammy Adjei, Jr. (7.5)
Hastings (12-6, 5-5 GPAC)
G – Logan Cale, Jr., 6-0 (4.9)
G – Kevin Miller, Sr., 6-2 (19.5)
F – Shane Chamberlain, Fr., 6-6 (7.5)
F – Bart Hiscock, Jr., 6-6 (18.3)
F – Brendan Lipovsky, Jr., 6-4 (11.6)
Briar Cliff (14-3, 8-2 GPAC)
G – Ethan Freidel, So., 6-0 (15.8)
G – Jackson Lamb, Jr., 6-4 (14.2)
G – Jay Wolfe, Sr., 6-4 (22.0)
F – Kyle Boerhave, Fr., 6-6 (8.6)
F – Nic Lutmer, Sr., 6-4 (5.1)