2005-2006 - Basketball schedule/roster
13-19 Overall, 5-13 GPAC
NOVEMBER | |||
| William Jewell-Hampton Inn Classic: | |||
| Nov. 4 | vs. Central Methodist | Liberty, Mo. | W 81-69 |
| Nov. 5 | vs. William Jewell | Liberty, Mo. | L 80-58 |
| Nov. 10 | Concordia Seminary | St. Louis, Mo. | W 89-53 |
| Nov. 11 | Hannibal LaGrange | Hannibal, Mo. | W 72-56 |
| Nov. 12 | Cuver-Stockton | Canton, Mo. | L 67-57 |
| Nov. 19 | Univ. of Sioux Falls* | Sioux Falls, S.D. | L 76-69 |
| Nov. 22 | Nebraska Wesleyan* | Lincoln, Neb. | L 65-49 |
DECEMBER | |||
| Dec. 3 | Northwestern* | Seward, Neb. | L 94-81 |
| Dec. 6 | Doane College* | Crete, Neb. | W 62-59 |
| Dec. 10 | Morningside College* | Seward, Neb. | L 78-73 (OT) |
| St. Xavier Midwest Tournament: | |||
| Dec. 21 | vs. University of St. Francis | Chicago, Ill. | L 76-74 |
| Dec. 22 | vs. St. Ambrose | Chicago, Ill. | W 69-59 |
| Dec. 23 | vs. St. Thomas Aquinas | Chicago, Ill. | L 75-60 |
| Black Hills State-Perkins Classic: | |||
| Dec. 29 | vs. South Dakota Tech | Spearfish, S.D. | L 76-74 |
| Dec. 30 | vs. Black Hills State | Spearfish, S.D. | W 76-65 |
JANUARY | |||
| Jan. 4 | Hastings* | Hastings, Neb. | L 66-62 |
| Jan. 7 | Briar Cliff* | Seward, Neb. | W 74-67 (OT) |
| Jan. 10 | Dana College* | Blair, Neb. | W 68-65 |
| Jan. 14 | Dordt College* | Sioux Center, Iowa | L 81-69 |
| Jan. 18 | Nebraska Wesleyan* | Seward, Neb. | L 66-60 (OT) |
| Jan. 21 | Dakota Wesleyan* | Seward, Neb. | L 64-52 |
| Jan. 24 | Midland Lutheran College* | Seward, Neb. | L 67-63 |
| Concordia Invitational Tournament (CIT): | |||
| Jan. 27 | vs. Mequon | Mequon, Wis. | W 80-71 |
| Jan. 28 | vs. Ann Arbor | Mequon, Wis. | L 68-60 |
FEBRUARY | |||
| Feb. 1 | Briar Cliff* | Sioux City, Iowa | L 93-87 |
| Feb. 4 | Mount Marty* | Yankton, S.D. | L 72-57 |
| Feb. 7 | Dana College* | Seward, Neb. | W 76-63 |
| Feb. 11 | Hastings* | Seward, Neb. | L 71-68 |
| Feb. 15 | Midland Lutheran* | Fremont, Neb. | W 64-62 |
| Feb. 18 | Doane* (Parent's/Senior Day) | Seward, Neb. | L 55-53 |
| GPAC Tournament: | |||
| Feb. 21 | vs. Doane | Crete, Neb. | W 67-60 |
| Feb. 23 | vs. Dordt | Sioux Center, Iowa | L 74-65 |
*Indicates Great Plains Athletic Conference Games
All Home Games in BOLD
2005-06 Roster
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Yr. | Hometown |
| 10 | Alex Michel | G | 6-0 | So. | Billings, Mont. |
| 12 | Scott Bech | G | 6-1 | Sr. | Scribner, Neb. |
| 14 | Heath Hansen | G | 6-1 | So. | Herman, Neb. |
| 20 | Ben Ahlman | G | 6-3 | Fr. | Arvada, Colo. |
| 22 | Eric Brown | G | 6-2 | Jr. | Rochester, Minn. |
| 24 | Richard Schwartz | G | 6-3 | Jr. | Westminister, Colo. |
| 30 | Thad Sankey | G | 6-3 | Sr. | Collinsville, Ill. |
| 32 | Jon Ziegler | G | 6-2 | Jr. | Lincoln, Neb. |
| 34 | Scott Hannon | F | 6-7 | So. | York, Neb. |
| 40 | Andy Miner | F | 6-5 | Fr. | Seward, Neb. |
| 42 | Reggie Corbin | P | 6-5 | Jr. | Beaumont, Texas |
| 44 | Benjamin Buhr | G | 6-3 | So. | Lincoln, Neb. |
| 52 | Jon Whitson | P | 6-7 | Sr. | Tomball, Texas |
| 54 | Dan Wiemer | P | 6-7 | So. | Lincoln, Neb. |
| Trevor Osten | G | 6-0 | Jr. | Creston, Neb. | |
| Jacob Hitschke | F | 6-4 | Fr. | North Glenn, Colo. | |
| Jimmy Boeder | G | 6-3 | So. | Nampa, Idaho | |
| Dayton Daberkow | F | 6-5 | Fr. | Madison, Neb. | |
| Brandon Schmidt | G | 5-11 | Fr. | Seward, Neb. | |
| Brett Waite | G | 6-3 | Fr. | North Platte, Neb. | |
| Ben Wilshusen | G | 6-4 | Fr. | Schuyler, Neb. |
Hoops ranked high in preseason poll
The Concordia men’s basketball team find themselves in the top 10 of the 2005-06 NAIA Division II preseason ratings at No. 6. Last season the Bulldogs finished as the NAIA Tournament runners-up, falling in the championship game to Walsh University.
Concordia is one of three GPAC teams rated, the others being Northwestern at No. 1 and the University of Sioux Falls at No. 18. The top 10 is as follows:
1. Northwestern
2. Southern Oregon
3. William Jewell
4. Oregon Tech
5. Cedarville
6. Concordia (NE)
7. Huntington (Ind.)
8. Cornerstone
9. Evangel
10. California State-East Bay
A complete listing of the Top 25 teams can be found at www.NAIA.org.
The Bulldogs return three starters of last year’s squad that went 32-6 overall. Those three starters encompass the entire backcourt for Concordia with senior Scott Beck at point guard and junior Jon Ziegler and sophomore Benjamin Buhr at the other guard positions. The trio started nearly every game for the Bulldogs last season.
“I think the ranking indicates a respect on multiple levels,” said Head Coach Grant Schmidt. “There is definitely a respect of the quality of the GPAC, the three returnees we have and the showing we had at the tournament last year.”
There will be some holes for the Bulldogs to fill, most notably the absence of two-time GPAC de fensive player of the year Jason Jisa. Also gone from this year’s squad is the 6-9 Marcus Wernke, who set the school record for blocks in his senior season. “In order for us to hold up to that (No. 6 rating) we will have to have some new players step up,” added Schmidt.
The Bulldogs start their season Nov. 4-5 at the William Jewell-Hampton Inn Classic in Liberty, Mo. Concordia’s first action at home comes on Dec. 3 as they host No.1 Northwestern.
Hoopsters split season opening games
5 NOV 2005
The Bulldog went 1-1 in their opening weekend of play at the William Jewell-Hampton Inn Classic in Liberty, Mo. On Friday evening Concordia defeated Central Methodist 81-69 before falling to No. 3 William Jewell 80-58 on Saturday.
In Saturday's contest three Bulldogs scored in double figures. Jon Ziegler led the way scoring 29 points, including five three-point field goals. Ziegler also had eight rebounds and three steals. As a team the Bulldogs had nine field goals from beyond the arc. Benjamin Buhr had 22 points on 9 of 16 shooting, hitting three triples of his own.
Scott Beck was the other Bulldog in double figures with 16 points and six assists. Thad Sankey and Jon Whitson both chipped in with six points.
On Saturday Concordia was not as fortunate against William Jewell. Jewell had four players in double figures and were led by Ronald Robinson who had a double-double with 25 points and 12 boards. For the Bulldogs Buhr had another big game offensively scoring 25 points. Beck remained consistent, adding 16 points for the second consecutive night. Ziegler managed only nine points in the loss.
The Bulldogs are back in action Nov. 10 as they take on the Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo.
Bulldogs win two on road trip
11 NOV 2005
Head Coach Grant Schmidt knew going into last week that three games in three days might be a bit much for the Bulldogs. Concordia took the first two games beating the Concordia Seminary and Hannibal-LaGrange, but ran out of gas in the third losing to Culver-Stockton.
“With our limited depth playing three in a row is tough,” said Schmidt. “Especially three games on the road.”
On Thursday evening 10 players saw time for the Bulldogs and 10 players scored in the 89-53 win. Five players were in double figures for the Dogs, led by Scott Beck with 15 points. Jon Whitson had a career high 13, while Jon Ziegler added 12 and Heath Hansen and Thad Sankey each pitched in with 11.
Against Hannibal-LaGrange the Bulldogs picked up a 72-56 win. Beck again led the way with 25 points. He also added six rebounds and six assists in the winning effort. Concordia shot 50 percent on the game and only committed eight turnovers. Other scoring leaders for the Dogs included Ziegler with 16 and Hansen with 11.
“It was good to see Heath have some success,” Schmidt added. “We need some new guys to step up and he did.”
Culver-Stockton went to work inside against the Bulldogs on Saturday getting 34 points in the paint compared to 16 for Concordia on their way to a 67-57 win.
Other than the starting backcourt of Beck, Buhr and Ziegler offense was tough to come by for the Bulldogs. Those three scored 52 of Concordia’s 57 points. Beck and Ziegler each finished with 19 while Buhr had nine in the loss.
The Bulldogs have the week off before traveling to Sioux Falls to take on the University of Sioux Falls Cougars on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 4:00 p.m. The Cougars were ranked No. 18 in the NAIA preseason poll.
Bulldogs drop physical game to Cougars
19 NOV 2005
The University of Sioux Falls Cougars shot 58 percent from the field to beat the Concordia men’s basketball team, 76-69, on Saturday on the opening night of GPAC play in Sioux Falls S.D.
The Cougars (4-1, 1-0 GPAC) ranked No. 18 in the NAIA preseason poll, used a very physical style of play to wear down the No. 6 ranked Bulldogs (3-3, 0-1 GPAC).
Concordia trailed by four at the break but battled back in the second half. A Jon Whitson layup with 3:51 remaining put the Bulldogs on top 64-63, but the Cougars hit six free throws in the final 37 seconds to put the game out of reach.
“They really went at us physically and being smaller than their imposing lineup but they eventually wore us down,” said Head Coach Grant Schmidt. “I felt our guys played hard, and we put ourselves in the position to win this game, but we had some critical mistakes and Sioux Falls was extremely efficient on offense and did not give us a chance to steal it (the lead).”
Jon Ziegler paced the Bulldogs offensively scoring 27 points, including five trey’s, in the losing effort. Whitson finished the night as the only other Bulldog in double figures with 10 points, going 5 of 6 from the field.
Concordia was also dealt another blow as sophomore guard Benjamin Buhr broke his nose early in the second half. He was able to return to the game, but injured his knee late in the game. His status is questionable for the upcoming games. Buhr also suffered a broken nose last season.
Next up for the Bulldogs is Nebraska Wesleyan on Tuesday Nov. 22nd in Lincoln, Neb. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Offensive struggles hamper men
22 NOV 2005
Despite out rebounding the Prairie Wolves, the sixth-ranked Concordia men's basketball team fell to Nebraska Wesleyan, 65-49, last Tuesday night in Lincoln.
The win by the Prairie Wolves (3-0, 1-0 GPAC) snapped a five game losing streak to the Bulldogs (3-4, 0-2 GPAC). Concordia was without the services of sophomore Benjamin Buhr, who broke his nose and injured his knee against Sioux Falls.
“It was a very disappointing game,” said Head Coach Grant Schmidt. “I do not feel that by being without one player there was any excuse for us looking that poor. We have a very tough challenge in the form of Northwestern next weekend and will have to have a great week of practice, and keep trying to get better as a team.”
Concordia had a tough night shooting, both from the field and the free throw line. The Bulldogs capitalized on only 10 of 21 chances from the charity stripe (47.6 percent) and shot 28.8 percent from the field.
“Offensively 49 points does not beat too many teams,” Schmidt added.
Jon Ziegler had game highs in points (17) while also supplying seven rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. The Lincoln Lutheran product had was 3 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Point guard Scott Beck was the only other Bulldog in double figures with 12 points. He also pulled down nine boards.
Nebraska Wesleyan jumped out to an early lead, 7-0, but the Bulldogs battled back to tie the game at 14 with 12:07 remaining in the first half. Concordia managed only two field goals the rest of the half as the Prairie Wolves outscored the Bulldogs 18-5 for a 32-19 lead at the break.
Nebraska Wesleyan’s lead was never in doubt in the second half, as the Bulldogs got no closer than 10 in the final frame.
The Prairie Wolves had three players in double digits, led by Marcus Minzel with 15. He sunk three threes on four attempts to go along with five rebounds.
Concordia will host NAIA Division II preseason No. 1 Northwestern College Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. The game is preceded by the women’s contest at 2:00 p.m.
No.1 Northwestern downs Bulldogs
3 DEC 2005
Northwestern College, rated No. 1 in the preseason NAIA Division II poll, shot 60 percent from the field en route to a 94-81 victory over the sixth-rated Concordia men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon in Seward.
The loss for the Bulldogs (3-5, 0-2 GPAC) snapped a seven game home court winning streak. The last time Concordia was defeated at home was on Jan. 12, 2005 against Morningside. That was the Bulldogs only at home last season.
“They (Northwestern) ran the court very well in transition and were able to score inside,” said Bulldog Head Coach Grant Schmidt.
Northwestern had 52 points come in the paint compared to 20 for Concordia.
Benjamin Buhr led all scorers with 30 points, shooting 50 percent from the field. He also buried five three point field goals. Buhr was in his first game back since breaking his nose and straining his knee in the Sioux Falls game.
Concordia made the most of their opportunities at the free throw line, hitting on 23 of 28 for 82 percent. Jon Ziegler, who finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, was 10of 13 at the charity stripe.
Point guard Scott Beck, who was on the bench a good chunk of the second half with foul trouble, was also in double figures with 19 points. He was a perfect 6 of 6 from the free throw line.
Northwestern scored seven unanswered to jump out to an early lead, 7-0. The Bulldogs cut the lead to four on two occasions in the first half but that was as close as they would get. At the break they trailed 47-36. The Red Raiders opened the second half with another 7-0 run, holding Concordia scoreless for the first 2:11 of the half.
The Red Raiders had four players in double figures, led by Chad Schuteman with 23. He was 10 of 12 from the field and pulled down 14 rebounds for the double double. Curt Schilling added 20 for Northwestern while Mark De Younge and Josh Van Es each had a dozen.
The Bulldogs travel to Doane College on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. contest before hosting Morningside College on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. It is a full day of basketball at Concordia on Saturday as the women’s team is in action at 2:00 p.m. and both JV squads also have games. The men’s JV will take on Hamilton College following the men’s varsity game and the women’s JV play Morningside at noon.
Bulldog hit from long range in win over Doane
6 DEC 2005
The Bulldogs scored almost half of their points from beyond the arc, hitting 10 three pointers, and shot 83 percent from the free throw line to beat the Doane College Tigers, 62-59, Tuesday night at Fuhrer Field House in Crete.
It was the first GPAC win of the season for the Bulldogs (4-5, 1-3 GPAC), and stopped a three game winning streak by Tigers (5-6, 2-3 GPAC) that included a victory over NCAA Division II Nebraska-Kearney.
“It was just a huge win for us,” said Bulldog Head Coach Grant Schmidt. “We needed to get a win in conference play and the guys stepped up and did what was needed for the win.”
After falling behind 5-0 in the first 90 seconds the Bulldog scored 13 unanswered points, including back to back to back threes to take a 13-5 lead with 12:06 remaining in the first half. Buhr opened the three point barrage and Scott Beck hit the next two.
Doane battled back to pull within two, but Beck drilled a jumper from the right elbow with six seconds left in the half to push the lead back to four, 33-29. Concordia shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and was perfect from the charity stripe.
In the second frame the Tigers tied the game on two occasions but each time the Bulldogs answered with a bucket to regain the lead. After Wade Janssen tied the game at 37 on a lay-up for the Tigers Jon Ziegler buried a triple on the next possession to regain the lead.
A traditional three point play by Doane’s Brent Cole tied the game again at 40. Again it was Ziegler who had a hand in breaking the tie as he drove the right side before dishing to Dan Wiemer who layed it in on the left side. The Bulldogs, thanks in part to a pair of threes by Ziegler and Thad Sankey, proceeded to stretch the lead to 53-43 with 8:19 left in the game.
Ziegler scored the last seven points of the game for the Bulldogs, including a long range shot from the left side as the shot clock expired with 3:33 remaining. That was the last field goal for Concordia, as Ziegler hit four free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Beck notched his second double double of the season as he scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Ziegler and Buhr were also in double figures with 18 and 10 points respectively. Ziegler had four three pointers while Buhr had one. Sankey also had a long range field goal and finished with five points.
Cole paced the Tigers with 15 points on 5 of 10 shooting from the field. As a team the Tigers shot 37 percent overall and only 27 percent from beyond the arc.
Concordia is back in action on Saturday as they take on Morningside College at home. Tip off is set for 4:00 p.m.
Free throws difference in OT
10 DEC 2005
Free throws proved to be the difference as the Morningside Mustangs hit 30 of 36 free throws, including 12 in the overtime period alone, as Concordia came up short in overtime, 78-73, Saturday afternoon in Seward.
Benjamin Buhr hit a jumper from beyond the arc with 28 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 62. Jon Ziegler swiped the ball from the Mustangs Jack Rother with less than 10 seconds left and his three pointer from the left side as time expired was off to the right, forcing overtime.
“Ziegler’s steal was huge,” said Bulldog Head Coach Grant Schmidt. “But in overtime we gave sent them to the line too often and that hurt us.”
The Bulldogs (4-6, 1-4 GPAC) almost made it two wins in a row over teams who had just beaten NCAA Division II teams as the Mustangs (9-2, 4-1 GPAC) beat the University of South Dakota a week earlier.
Concordia bolted to a 5-0 lead to start the game off a three pointer by Buhr and a jumper by Scott Beck. Morningside used a 7-0 run to take the lead with 16:21 remaining in the first half and wouldn’t trail again, taking a 30-26 lead into the break.
Concordia battled back in the second half and took the lead, 40-39, on a tradition three point play by Ziegler with 14:21 remaining. One was as big as the lead would get for the Bulldogs as the teams went back and forth before the game tying three by Buhr.
Beck scored four of the Bulldogs 11 points in the overtime including a pair of free throws. His free throws were the only two attempted by Concordia in the overtime. In contrast the Mustangs were 12 of 14 from the charity strip in the extra frame.
Concordia actually had more made field goals than Morningside in the game (26 compared to 23 for the Mustangs), but were outscored from the free throw line by 16.
Defensively the Bulldogs held the Mustangs to just two triples on 15.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Coming into the game the Mustangs led the GPAC in three point shooting.
Beck notched his second consecutive double-double of the season, and led all scorers, as he finished 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Ziegler and Buhr were also in double figures with 19 and 11 points respectively. They each had three long range field goals in the game. Reggie Corbin, in the starting lineup for the second game in a row, finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
The Mustangs had three players in double figures including Brad Schmit with 27 points, 11 coming from the charity stripe. Tom Regan notched a double-double pulling down 10 boards to go with his 20 points.
Concordia will compete in the St. Xavier University Midwest Tournament Dec. 21 through Dec. 23. They open play on Wednesday, Dec. 21st against the University of St. Francis (Ind.) at 5:00 p.m. For results check out www.cune.edu/athletics.
Beck and Ziegler reach 1000
Two Concordia men’s basketball players, Scott Beck (Scribner, Neb.) and Jon Ziegler (Lincoln, Neb.), joined the 1000-point club within minutes of each other in a game against Nebraska Wesleyan on Nov. 22.
Beck, a senior, went over the 1000-point plateau on a layup with 4:35 remaining in the first half on Nov. 22. He was six points shy of the mark heading into the contest and finished the night with 12 points. For his career, Beck averages 13.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists. In addition to 1076 points, he has pulled down 556 rebounds in his career.
Ziegler, a junior, joined the 1000 point club within three minutes of Beck. With 999 points, Ziegler drilled his third triple of the game putting him at 1002 points on his career. He finished the game with 17 points and now has 1063 points on his career. Ziegler was the leading scorer for the Bulldogs last season with 577 points, averaging 15.2 points per game.
Buzzer beater dooms Bulldogs
21 DEC 2005
In his first game as a Bulldog Sophomore Scott Hannon scored 20 points on 7 of 8 shooting but it wasn’t enough as the Concordia University men's basketball team fell, 76-74, to the University of Saint Francis (Ind.) in the first round of the Saint Xavier Midwest Tournament in Chicago, Ill.
The Cougars’ Mike Steinau hit a jumper as time expired to cap an improbable comeback by USF.Concordia drops to 4-7 overall (1-4 GPAC) while the Cougars improve to 11-4 overall (2-2 MCC). Two of the Cougars four losses have been to teams ranked in the top ten in NAIA Division II (No. 5 Huntington, No. 9 Walsh).
The Bulldogs shot a blistering 61.5 percent from the field in the first half en route to a 43-19 advantage at intermission. On the flip side USF struggled from the field hitting only eight shots the entire first frame. Concordia outscored the Cougars 22-3 in the final 11:14 of first half.
In the second frame the Bulldogs stretched the lead to as many as 26 points and with 12:54 remaining Concordia had a 25 point advantage. From that point on the Bulldogs, who had 27 turnovers on the night, committed 13 turnovers as the Cougars used a full court press.
St. Francis was able to slowly get back into the game thanks in part to better shooting from the field (48.6 percent in the second half) and the charity stripe. For the game the Cougars were 22 of 35 from the free throw line, but 19 of the makes came in the second half.
With 1:40 remaining senior point guard Scott Beck fouled out for the Bulldogs. At the time Concordia had a three point lead, 69-66. USF then knocked down a pair of free throws to pull within one. After a Bulldog turnover the Cougars took their first lead since the first five minutes of the game.
The Cougars stretched their lead to three with 28 seconds left. On the next possession the Bulldogs’ Heath Hansen pulled down an offensive rebound and proceeded to nail a three pointer to tie the game with seven seconds left.
Steinau's game-winner went through the net as the clock showed 00:00 to cap the Cougars amazing comeback. He led all scorers with 21 points and was one of four St. Francis players in double figures.
In addition to Hannon’s 20 points Jon Ziegler and Scott Beck each added 18 points. Ziegler also had nine rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal. Benjamin Buhr chipped in with eight points.
Concordia faces Saint Ambrose (Iowa) contest at 3:00 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22 in the second round of the tournament. The complete tournament bracket and other important information can be found on the Saint Xavier University website.
Bulldogs make most of free throws
22 DEC 2005
Junior Jon Ziegler erupted for 36 points, 19 coming from the charity stripe, in the Bulldogs 69-59 win over St. Ambrose (IA) in the second round of the Saint Xavier Midwest Tournament in Chicago, Ill.
Concordia improves to 5-7 overall, while the Fighting Bees fall to 6-9 overall. Just a month ago the Bees beat Morningside College, 87-84, in overtime.
In the opening frame the Bulldogs scored the first basket and never looked back. They opened up an 11 point lead midway through the first half after six straight points from Scott Beck. St. Ambrose battle back, using a 12-3 run to pull within one. Concordia held on to a two point lead, 31-29, at half.
The Fighting Bees used a 9-0 spurt early in the second half to take a four point advantage, 34-38, with 17:47 remaining. The Bulldogs tied thing up at 39 on a three pointer by Benjamin Buhr, but St. Ambrose answered with another run, stretching their lead to seven with 8:44 remaining.
Free throws were the name of the game for the Bulldogs in the final eight minutes of the game, as they scored 14 of their final 21 points from the line for the 10 point win. Of those 14 free throws, 11 came via Ziegler. Ziegler, who finished with a career high 36 points, scored 13 of Concordia’s final 21 points.
The Bulldogs outscored the Fighting Bees by 15 from the free throw line, capitalizing on 29 of 38 at the stripe for the game. Beck was 7 of 9 from the line, scored 13 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Buhr and Scott Hannon pitched in with eight and seven points respectively.
Chris Washington led the way for St. Ambrose scoring 15, while Andrew Bryant scored eleven and grabbed 17 boards.
Concordia will play St. Thomas Aquinas in the fifth place game at 2:00 p.m. on Dec. 23. The Bulldogs next action will be at the Black Hills State-Perkins Classic in Spearfish, S.D., on Dec. 29-30. They then take on Hastings College in Hastings on Jan. 4 and return to their home court Jan. 7 for a game against Briar Cliff.
Bulldogs end St. Xavier Tournament with loss
23 DEC 2005
The Bulldogs had three players in double figures but it wasn’t enough to overcome a Saint Thomas Aquinas College second half run as they fell, 75-60, in the final round of the Saint Xavier Midwest Tournament in Chicago, Ill.Concordia is now 5-8 overall, while St. Thomas Aquinas improves to 6-5 overall.
In an even first half Concordia stayed close and even lead on two occasions. The Bulldogs pulled to within two on a layup by Scott Beck with 2:35 remaining in the first half. St. Thomas used a three pointer with one second remaining in the first half to take a 37-32 lead into halftime.
It was all St. Thomas Aquinas in the first five minutes of the second half as they outscored the Bulldogs 16-8 en route to a 13 point advantage.
Concordia cut the lead to single digits, 58-49, thanks to back-to-back three point field goals by Benjamin Buhr and Jon Ziegler. That proved to be as close as the Bulldogs would get. For the game St. Thomas hit on 55 percent of it’s field goal attempts, while the Bulldogs struggled from the field at 32 percent.
Ziegler led Concordia in scoring for the second consecutive game with 19 points. For the tournament Ziegler averaged 24.3 points per game and was named to the All-Tournament team. The two Scotts on the team, Beck and Hannon, were also in double figures with 10 and 14 respectively. Dan Wiemer had a solid performance off the bench, scoring seven and pulling down eight rebounds.
Willis Kettrell led four players in double figures for St. Thomas scoring 20, including three long range field goals. As a team St. Thomas knocked down 7 of 11 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Bulldogs next action will be at the Black Hills State-Perkins Classic in Spearfish, S.D., on Dec. 29-30. On Thursday they take on South Dakota State at 8:00 p.m. and will battle the host school, Black Hills State, at 6:00 p.m.
Ziegler named All-Tournament
Junior Jon Ziegler (Lincoln, Neb.) was named to the 2005 St. Xavier Midwest All-Tournament Team held Dec. 21-23 in Chicago, Ill. The Bulldogs went 1-2 during the event.Ziegler, a 6-2 guard, averaged 24.3 points per game and shot 54 percent from the field over the Bulldogs three game span in Chicago. In Concordia’s victory of St. Ambrose he scored a career high 36 points and went a phenomenal 19 of 22 from the free throw line. He was 27 of 33 from the charity stripe for the tournament.
In addition to scoring, Ziegler also averaged 7.3 rebounds per game.
The Bulldogs competed at the St. Xavier University Men's Basketball Midwest Tournament from Dec. 21-23. For more information and results from the tournament visit the following link."St. Xavier Tournament Page"
Late threes carry Bulldogs
29 DEC 2005
Concordia University hit back-to-back three-pointers in the final seconds to edge South Dakota Tech 65-62 in the Perkins Classic men's basketball tournament at Spearfish's Don Young Center Thursday.The Bulldogs' crucial pair of long-range shots ruined a Tech rally that saw the Hardrockers battle back to grab a 59-55 lead with just 1:45 left.
Concordia grabbed an early 9-4 advantage and led by five to eight points virtually the entire game before the Hardrockers turned up their defensive pressure and moved ahead.
Concordia led 49-43 with 12:41 on the clock but Tech held the Bulldogs to just six points over the next 11 minutes.
With 2:48 to play, Tech's Matt Lyndoe made a midcourt steal and drove to the bucket for a slam to give the Hardrockers their first lead of the night, 57-55.
Lyndoe scored again at the 1:56 mark to put Tech up 59-55, and Hardrockers coach Jason Henry said, "I thought we had them."
But Scott Beck and Benjamin Buhr connected from three-point range to give Concordia a 61-59 edge. The Dogs' Scott Hannon then sank four straight free throws to wrap up the win.
Concordia had nailed three points from behind the arc in the first eight minutes but then hit only one more three-pointer the rest of the opening half. The Bulldogs misfired on their first nine three-point attempts of the second stanza but then suddenly regained their touch when it really counted in the closing seconds.
"Our defense helped us finally get over the hump, but then Concordia made some big plays at the end and we didn't," said Henry.
"That's kind of been the story of our season. We need to make more plays at the end."
Tech shot a hot 49 percent from the field but got 14 fewer field goal attempts than the Bulldogs who grabbed 14 offensive rebounds. Concordia held a commanding nine to two edge in offensive rebounds in the first half.
"That hurt because offensive rebounding is our team strength," said Henry whose team had pulled down 189 offensive rebounds to just 134 for their opponents in 14 previous games.
Hardrockers' rebounding efforts were hampered by the loss of 6-5 Samir Adam who went down with a knee injury and played only 12 minutes.
"Samir is a key player for us both on the offensive board and at the defensive end," said Henry.
Post player Casey Schmitz (21 points) and Lyndoe (14) scored 35 of Tech's 62 points.
"Our game plan was to pound the ball inside and we were able to do that especially after two of Concordia's big men got into foul trouble," said Henry.
Scott Hannon topped Concordia with 22 points.
Tech held talented guard Jon Ziegler to 10 points, well below his season average of 19.6 points.
"Blake Tideman and Lyndoe did a nice job on Ziegler. We took some things away from him, but Concordia had other guys step up and that's a sign of a good team," said Henry.
*Story courtesy of Rapid City Journal, by Joe Case
Beck paces Bulldogs in win
30 DEC 2005
Scott Beck scored 20 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year and Jon Ziegler tossed in 19 points to lead Concordia to a 76-65 win over Black Hills State in the final game of the 12th Perkins Classic on Friday night.
Beck, one of three Bulldogs to score in double figures, scored 13 points after halftime.
"That was a good win for us," Concordia Head Coach Grant Schmidt said after his team's second win in as many night on the Young Center floor. "We struggled against Tech. Tonight, we played so much better defensively."
Concordia did a great job defending Yellow Jacket post Hallard Jackson III. Schmidt noted that the absence of Black Hills State power forward Scott Ferguson allowed his team to double team Jackson and give him few looks. The Bulldogs built on that by successfully defending BHSU along the perimeter.
Jackson had just six points at halftime on 3 of 3 shooting. Guard J.J. White, who had 14 points in Thursday's win over Dana, was held scoreless the first half and finished with nine.
"You have to stop Jackson, and that's not an easy thing to do," Schmidt said. "(White) gets a lot done in the open court. Last night, they got a lot of transition baskets. We limited what they did. We got them into a half-court game. That's what we had to do."
Black Hills State coach Paul Sather agreed that, without Ferguson, his team wasn't quite as efficient at the offensive end.
"It took us out of the rhythm we've had the last six, seven games," the first-year Yellow Jacket coach said. "It took away that rhythm, but that's not an excuse. They did a great job defending us and taking certain things away."
Both teams played a very physical brand of basketball the full 40 minutes.
Concordia led by as many as eight in the early going, but Black Hills State reeled off 10 straight points to take a 21-18 lead with 7:10 left in the first half.
White got loose for a lay-in and followed up with a rare transition basket to pull the Yellow Jackets within 38-36 at the 17:17 mark of the second half.
Then, Concordia's ball pressure paid big dividends. Black Hills State went without a field goal for 5-1/2 minutes, limiting the Yellow Jackets to three free throws during that stretch. Jon Ziegler hit a jumper and assisted on two of the Bulldogs next three baskets to spark a 13-3 run that ended with the Bulldogs leading 51-39.
Black Hills State drew within six twice - first on a Casey Doolan 3-pointer and on a White jumper the next trip down - but the Yellow Jackets couldn't get a critical stop. Forced to foul, BHSU sent Concordia to the three throw line 26 times in the last 5-1/2 minutes. The Bulldogs hit 13 of their first 14 from the line to draw out to a 69-58 lead with 1:19 to go. Beck and Ziegler were particularly sharp, making all 12 of their tries during that run.
"We hold them to 39 percent shooting and four offensive rebounds, but they make 32 free throws," Sather said. "That's way too many."
Jackson finished with 13 points on 6 of 9 shooting and pulled down 13 rebounds for Black Hills State (7-8). Ammon Bemis followed with 13 points and Doolan had 12.
Scott Hannon chipped in 12 points for Concordia.
The Bulldogs are back in action in 2006 as they travel to Hastings, Neb., to take on the Hastings College Broncos on Jan. 4.
*Story courtesy of Rapid City Journal, by Jeff Easton.
Hastings second half dooms Bulldogs
4 JAN 2006
The Hastings College men’s basketball team used some hot shooting in the second half to come from behind to defeat Concordia, 66-62, Wednesday night in Hastings.
After hitting just nine field goals on 30 percent shooting in the first half Hastings found their rhythm in the second frame, shooting a blistering 62.7 percent from the floor including four long range field goals. Krae Dutoit did most of the damage, scoring 18 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, including four of his six three point field goals.
With the loss Concordia falls to 7-9 overall (1-5 GPAC) while the Broncos improve to 11-7 overall (2-4 GPAC).
Leading 25-21 at the break, the Bulldogs extended their lead to ten after back-to-back three pointers by Scott Hannon and Benjamin Buhr.
Hastings cut the lead to four on a Dutoit three with 9:17 remaining but the Bulldogs answered with a triple of their own by Hannon to push the lead back to seven at the 8:49 mark. Hannon finished the night 4 for 5 from beyond the arc.
For the next four and half minutes the Broncos outscored the Bulldogs 13-1 to take a 54-49 lead with 4:27 remaining. Concordia battled back to makes things interesting. Trailing by four with 33 seconds left Buhr came off a screen at the top of the key and was fouled on his three-point attempt. Buhr nailed all three free throws to pull the Bulldogs within one. Hastings hit three of four free throws to seal the win.
Jon Ziegler, Buhr and Hannon each finished with 17 points for the Bulldogs. Reggie Corbin finished with six rebounds, two blocks and two points. Corbin spent most of his time guarding 6-11 Bobby Kempf of Hastings. Kempf, who transferred from the University of Nebraska, finished with 10 points.
Concordia will take on Briar Cliff on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 4:00 p.m. in Seward.
Ziegler scores 31 in OT win over Briar Cliff
7 JAN 2006
Junior guard Jon Ziegler hit a driving lay-up on the right side with eight seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime against Briar Cliff Saturday afternoon in Seward. The Bulldogs out-scored the Chargers 15-8 in the extra frame for a thrilling 74-67 victory.Ziegler, who finished the game with a double-double (31 points, 11 rebounds), was fouled on his game-tying lay-up but the free throw bounced away.
The Chargers shot at the end of regulation, which went in, was waved off as it came after the buzzer had sounded. Concordia improved to 8-9 overall (2-5 GPAC) with the win, while Briar Cliff falls to 9-8 overall (1-6 GPAC).
In a game that saw 17 lead changes and six ties, Concordia overcame a nine-point second half deficit to pick up a much needed conference win.
Trailing by eight at halftime the Bulldogs battled back to take the lead, 51-49, on a Ziegler three pointer with 6:14 remaining. Concordia stretched their lead to as many as four on two occasions in regulation, the last coming at the 3:40 mark.
Back-to-back layups by Briar Cliff’s Jeremy Moses gave the Chargers the lead back with just over two minutes remaining. Scott Beck hit 1 of 2 free throws to tie the game with76 seconds left.
Neil Rohe’s free throws with 23 seconds remaining gave BCU the lead back. That setup Ziegler’s dramatic game tying shot.
Benjamin Buhr gave the Bulldogs the lead on a jumper and they never looked back, scoring eight unanswered. Six different Concordia players scored in overtime.
Three starters were in double figures for the Bulldogs, led by Ziegler’s 31 points. He was 9 of 18 from the field, 3 of 6 from beyond the arc and had five steals to go along with his 11 rebounds. Beck had 12 points and five boards. Buhr contributed 11 points and six rebounds.
The trio of Beck, Buhr and Ziegler played the entire 45 minutes.
The Bulldogs were out-rebounded by the Chargers, 50-41, but committed six less turnovers than BCU. Both teams struggled from the floor in the second half, shooting 28 percent. The Bulldogs hit 14 more free throws than the Chargers who finished the game 42.9 percent from the charity stripe.
Briar Cliff had four players in double figures. Martez Van Buren, who came in averaging over 14 points per game, finished the game with seven points on 2 of 20 shooting.
Concordia will play at Dana College on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. The game can be heard live via Webcast at www.cune.edu.
Tight game goes Concordia
10 JAN 2006
Senior guard Scott Beck hit a fade-away jumper on the left baseline to beat the shot clock and give the Bulldogs a one-point advantage with 1:19 remaining as Concordia defeated Dana College 68-65 Tuesday night in Blair, Neb.
Beck, who finished the game with his sixth double-double of the season (23 points, 12 rebounds), shot 52 percent from the floor and added five assists..
Concordia improved to 9-9 overall (3-5 GPAC) with the win, while the Vikings fall to 9-8 overall (4-4 GPAC).
Trailing by one at halftime the Bulldogs used back-to-back buckets by Benjamin Buhr, including a three pointer, to open the half and take a 37-33 lead. In a see-saw battle Dana pulled back in front, 47-43, on a 10 foot jumper by Robbie Cox at the 10:36 mark.
With 2:21 left the Vikings took a one-point lead on a long-range field goal by Trent Mumma. Scott Hannon answered for the Bulldogs on the next possession as he took a pass from Beck on the right wing who buried a three point basket.
Dana’s Jason Isaacson scored nine points in the final eight minutes including a driving lay-up off the left side to tie the game with 1:49 left. Fouled on the play, Isaacson’s free throw gave Dana the lead. Beck then hit what proved to by the game winning shot on the baseline.
Concordia got the ball back after Beck then took a charge from Isaacson. Jon Zielger added to the Bulldogs cushion getting a lay-up with 23 ticks left to make it 68-65. Dana had a chance to tie the game on a three point attempt by Cox but the rebound finally came down to Beck after a battle down low.
For the Bulldogs, Beck led the way with 23 points. Ziegler added 20 points. Numerous other Concordia players hit big shots at key moments. Buhr and Hannon each finished with seven points while Reggie Corbin and Thad Sankey added five points each. The Bulldogs capitalized on Viking miscues, turning 12 Dana turnovers into 16 points.
Isaacson led all scorers with 27 points for Dana, while 6-8 center Mark Esser also chipped in with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Concordia will travel to Dordt College on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 4 p.m. The game can be heard live via Webcast at www.cune.edu.
No. 5 Dordt downs Dogs
14 JAN 2006
The Concordia University men's basketball team couldn’t survive a late run by the fifth ranked Dordt College Defenders falling 81-69 in Great Plains Athletic Conference action in Sioux Center, Iowa on Saturday.
After trailing by as many as nine the Bulldogs closed out the final 7:22 of the first half with a 17-9 run to pull within one at the break. During the Concordia scoring spurt Benjamin Buhr hit back-to-back three point field goals.
The teams traded leads four times in the first 12 minutes of the second half. Another Buhr long-range field goal put the Bulldogs back on top, 61-58, with 8:06 remaining in the game.
The Defenders pulled even at 65 with 4:52 remaining. Brandon Haan then hit a jumper and hit a free throw after he was fouled. The traditional three-point play ignited a nine-point run that Concordia wasn't able to stop until the 1:33 mark. The Bulldogs were not able to get any closer than seven from that point.
Haan led all scorers with a career high 31 points while Luke Ruter added 16 for Dordt. Four players finished in double figures for the Defenders as Josh Boyer and Mark Rowenhorst came off the bench to score 11 and 10 points respectively.
Concordia was led by Buhr who finished with 19 points, hitting three shots from beyond the arc. Scott Beck and Jon Ziegler added 17 and 10 points respectively. All three played all 40 minutes for the Bulldogs with Ziegler dishing off nine assists and grabbing eight rebounds. Jon Whitson scored 10 points off the bench, going 5 of 5 from the field.
The Bulldogs are back at home on Wednesday, Jan. 18 as they host the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Dogs fall in OT
18 JAN 2006
Concordia didn’t have an answer for Joseph Easley in the second half as they dropped a 66-60 overtime contest to Nebraska Wesleyan on Wednesday night in Seward. The Bulldogs were out-scored by the Prairie Wolves 12-6 in the extra period.
The Bulldogs held Easley to only two points in the first half before he erupted for 17 points in the second half. He had 11 of the Prairie Wolves 12 overtime points and finished the game with 30 points.
Concordia drops to 9-11 overall (3-7GPAC) with the loss, while Nebraska Wesleyan improves to 8-8 overall (3-7 GPAC).
Both teams struggled from the field in the first half. The Bulldogs shot 38.7 percent while NWU hit only seven buckets for 29.2 percent. Of the Prairie Wolves seven buckets, four were from beyond the arc.
In the final 5:53 of the first half the Bulldogs outscored Nebraska Wesleyan 8-3 to take a 21-19 advantage into the locker room at halftime. Scott Beck had nine of the Bulldogs 17 rebounds in the first half.
The teams traded the lead five times in the first 4:38 of the second half. Nebraska Wesleyan was able to open up a seven point lead, the biggest by either squad, with 12:22 remaining in regulation thanks to back-to-back buckets in the paint by Easley.
A Scott Hannon long-range field goal gave the Bulldogs a three point lead and capped a 14-4 run by the Bulldogs at the 8:04 mark in the second half. Concordia was able to keep the lead until Easley tied the game, 54- 54, with 52 ticks left. After a missed jumper by Reggie Corbin on the next possession, Easley had a chance to win the game in regulation, but hit shot in the lane was off, forcing overtime.
Easley gave NWU the first lead in OT, on a pair of free throws. Hannon, who scored all six of the Bulldogs overtime points, buried his third three of the game to put Concordia back on top. It proved to be the only lead the Bulldogs would have in the extra frame.
Another three by Hannon cut the lead to two with 27 seconds left. But Easley, who scored 11 of the Prairie Wolves 12 points in overtime, hit four free throws in the final 25 seconds to keep the Bulldogs on short end of the score.
Easley led all scorers with 30 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. M.J. Hrabik added 15 points for Nebraska Wesleyan.
For the Bulldogs Scott Beck had notched his seventh double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Hannon finished with 18 points, four coming from beyond the arc, and grabbed nine rebounds. Jon Ziegler and Corbin added nine and eight points respectively.
Concordia hosts Dakota Wesleyan in Seward on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 4:00 p.m.
Tigers second half run betters Bulldogs
21 JAN 2006
Brock Seim scored 14 of his game-high 21 points after halftime and led a second half rally to lead the Dakota Wesleyan Tigers over Concordia, 64-52, Saturday afternoon in Seward.It was the second win in three days for the Tigers (13-10, 6-5 GPAC) as they defeated No. 17 Dordt on Jan. 18. The Bulldogs (9-12, 3-8 GPAC) continue to struggle at home, where they have one just one game this season.
Concordia started the game on strong, opening up a 19-6 advantage midway through the first half. Of the Bulldogs first 19 points, 14 were in the paint. Despite shooting just 21.4 percent from the field (6 of 28) in the first half the Tigers were able to pull within four at the half, 27-23. DWU, went on a 7-2 run in the final 6:30 of the first half as Concordia was unable to convert on eight straight shot attempts.
In the second half it was the Bulldogs who would struggle from the field, hitting only 23.7 percent of their attempts from the field (9 of 38).
Reggie Corbin knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Bulldogs their final lead of the game, 33-32, with 14:44 remaining. Kevin Talley hit from long range on the next DWU possession to put the Tigers on top.
After back-to-back misses by the Bulldogs, Seim hit a trey to push the lead to seven. Travis Johnson put an exclamation point on the Tigers run with a dunk in transition. Dakota Wesleyan pushed their lead to as many as 15 during the second half.
The Bulldogs were able to cut the lead to single digits on two occasions, pulling within seven on a layup by Jon Ziegler at the 2:36 mark. Talley answered for the Tigers draining a three on the ensuing trip down the court to push the lead back to 10.
The Tigers held off the Concordia rally, hitting 6 of 9 free throws in the final 100 seconds.
Talley tied Seim for game high honors with 21 points. Seim also pulled down 14 rebounds for the Tigers. No other Dakota Wesleyan players were in double digits scoring wise.
Neither team shot well in the contests as the Bulldogs hit on 29.7 percent of their shots while the Tigers converted 32.8 percent. DWU out shot the Bulldogs from the charity stripe, hitting on 18 of 23 attempts compared to 6 of 12 for Concordia.
Ziegler and Corbin shared team honors for the Bulldogs with 11 points a piece. Ziegler (11 points, 13 rebounds) recorded his second double-double of the year. Scott Beck chipped in with nine points and Benjamin Buhr and Scott Hannon added eight points.
Concordia is scheduled to host Midland Lutheran on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. before traveling to Wisconsin for the 55th Annual Concordia Invitational Tournament (CIT).
Ziegler paces dogs in CIT win
27 JAN 2006
Junior Jon Ziegler (right) scored 23 of his game high 32 points in the first half as the Concordia University, Nebraska men’s basketball team came from behind to defeat Concordia University, Wisconsin, 80-71, Friday night in the first round of the Concordia Invitational Tournament (CIT).
The tournament rotates sites and this year is being played in Mequon, Wis., on the campus of Concordia-Wisconsin.
The win breaks a four game losing streak for the Bulldogs (10-13, 3-9 GPAC) and pits them against Concordia-Michigan in the championship game. The Falcons of Concordia-Wisconsin (5-13 overall, 4-6 LMC) are now 2-5 on their home court.
The Falcons opened the game with nine unanswered points, including two three-pointers by Anthony Johnson, before Ziegler hit a free throw 3:26 into the game to get the Bulldogs on the scoreboard. Johnson had 14 points in the first half. His fastbreak layup with 14:57 left in the first half gave the Falcons their biggest lead of the game, 18-6.
Ziegler then took over for the Bulldogs as he outscored Concordia-Wisconsin 14-9 over nearly an eight minute span. He capped his run, which started at the 12:50 mark with the Bulldog trailing by six, with a three pointer that tied the game at 27 with 5:09 remaining in the first frame.
The Bulldogs opened up a lead of six before Concordia-Wisconsin hit four free throws in the final minute of the first half to cut the margin to 36-34 at intermission.
In the second half the Falcons regained the lead and were able to open up a five point advantage with 13:47 left in the game. Steve Huenink had a big second half for Concordia-Wisconsin scoring 20 of his 24 in the second frame.
A long two-point field goal by Thad Sankey cut the Falcon lead to three. Sankey, who finished with eight points, put the Bulldogs back on top with a deep ball on the left wing at the 9:08 mark. But the Bulldogs didn’t take the lead for good until Scott Hannon drilled a triple after a Jon Whitson offensive rebound on a missed free throw by Scott Beck. Whitson had five total boards, three offensive on the night.
The Bulldogs sealed the win at the charity stripe where the converted 11 times in the final 1:50. For the game the Bulldogs hit 27 of 33 free-throw attempts, compared to just 13 of 21 for the Falcons. Concordia-Nebraska out rebounded the Falcons as well, pulling down 39 rebounds to their 32.
Beck finished with a double-double (18 points, 12 rebounds), his eight of the season, for the Bulldogs while Hannon added 13 points and six rebounds. In all eight different Bulldogs scored.
David Lipanot paced the Falcons with 24 points. Johnson, Huenink and Matthew Peetz were all in double figures with 18, 13 and 10 points respectively.
Concordia-Nebraska looks to defend their CIT title against Concordia-Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 8:00 p.m.
Bulldogs fall short in title game
28 JAN 2006
Concordia University, Michigan (Ann Arbor) shot 52 percent from the floor, including 6 of 8 from beyond the arc, as they defeated the Concordia University, Nebraska men’s basketball team, 68-60, Saturday night in the championshipt game of the Concordia Invitational Tournament (CIT).The loss stops a seven year reign as CIT champions for the Bulldogs (10-14, 3-9 GPAC). It was the first CIT title for the Cardinals of Concordia-Michigan (12-11 overall, 3-4 WHAC) under the guidance of Head Coach Ben Limback, who won three titles as a player for the Bulldogs in the nineties.
The game was close early on, as the Bulldogs were within two after a Scott Hannon triple with 16:08 left in the first half. The Concordia-Nebraska offense then went cold, as they were unable to score on their next six seven possessions, while the Cardinals opened up an 11-point advantage.
The Bulldogs were able to counter with an 11-2 run of their own to cut the deficit back to a bucket, 22-20, after a three by Scott Beck. During the Bulldogs spurt Benjamin Buhr had six points, a jumper from beyond the arc and a traditional three point play. A Buhr layup with 2:02 on the clock in the first half tied the game at 28.
At the break the Bulldogs trailed, 31-28, despite hitting only one-third of their attempts from the field compared to the Cardinals who converted on half of theirs. Jon Ziegler, who had 23 in the first half one night earlier, was held to only five points for the Bulldogs.
After trailing by eight early in the second half the Bulldogs came storming back to take a two-point lead, 42-40, on a Ziegler three-pointer. Ziegler’s three was the third for the Bulldogs in a five minute stretch, the other two coming via Hannon and Buhr.
The Bulldogs opened up a four point margin at one point during the see-saw second half. A free throw by Nate Aschcroft and a deep ball by Casey Livingston tied the game, 47-47.
The two teams swapped leads seven times in the final 13:33, before the Cardinals took the lead for good on layup by Aschcroft with 2:09 remaining. Concordia-Michigan hit five free throws in the final 90 seconds to seal the win, as the Bulldogs were able to score on one of their final seven possessions.
Four Bulldogs finished in double figures. Buhr led the charge with 17 points, while Hannon added 15 points and six rebounds. Ziegler and Beck tallied 12 and 10 points respectively. Zielger was named to the CIT All-Tournament Team.
Ashcroft, the tourney MVP, paced the Cardinals, scoring 22 points on 7 of 10 shooting from the field. 6-8 post player Cihan Mumcuogullari, from Istanbul, Turkey, had points and seven blocked shots to go along with 11 rebounds.
The Bulldogs return to conference play on February 1, on the road against Briar Cliff at 8:00 p.m.
Road not kind to Bulldogs
4 FEB 2006
The Concordia men's basketball team dropped a pair of GPAC contests over the past week, falling 93-87 to Briar Cliff on Wednesday and 72-57 to Mount Marty on Saturday. Both games were on the road.
Concordia falls to 10-16 overall (3-11 GPAC) with four regular season games remaining.
Against Briar Cliff the Bulldogs led by as many as six in the first half before heading into the locker room at halftime tied at 39.
Briar Cliff came out hot to start the second half, out-scoring the Bulldogs 15-4 in the first 4:30 as they went up 54-43. The Chargers ended up shooting 56.7 percent from the floor in the second half and 53.2 for the game.
Concordia battled back to take the lead on two occasions, once after a Benjamin Buhr triple and again on a free throw by Scott Hannon. The Bulldogs were unable to convert on their next five consecutive possessions as the Chargers pushed their lead back to 10.
The Bulldogs didn’t go with out a fight as they five threes in the final 2:30 to stay close. For the game the Bulldogs were 42.9 percent from beyond the arc, hitting on 12 triples.
Four players were in double figures for Concordia. Jon Ziegler led the way with 23, while Buhr added 21 (4 of 6 from beyond the arc). Scott Beck had 19 and Hannon finished with 12. The Bulldogs managed only four points from their bench.
Perhaps the most lopsided stat of the game was in the rebounding department. Briar Cliff pulled down 46 boards (15 offensive) compared to just 27 for the Bulldogs. The Chargers converted their offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points.
It was more of the same for the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon against Mount Marty. Concordia was out-rebounded again, this time by a margin of 45-29. Of the Lancers 45 boards, 17 were on the offensive end, leading to 22 second-chance points.
Despite playing without starting point guard Beck, who was on the bench with foul trouble most of the first half, the Bulldogs trailed by only two at intermission, 26-24, thanks in part to a zone defense by Concordia that slowed the game down, limiting the touches of Mount Marty’s 6-8 post player Justin Bonnichsen.
After struggling from beyond the arc in the first half the Lancers started to knock down the outside shot, hitting five three’s in the second half to pull away from the Bulldogs.
Other than the five starters, four of whom were in double figures, no one scored for the Bulldogs. Buhr continued to hit from downtown, finishing with four triples and 15 points. Beck added a dozen while Ziegler and Hannon had 11 each.
Dogs down Dana again
4 FEB 2006
Senior guard Scott Beck scored 25 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season as the Concordia University, Nebraska men’s basketball team defeated the Dana College Vikings, 76-63, Wednesday night in Seward, Neb.
In the two meetings between the teams this season Beck has had 48 points, 22 rebounds and has shot 52.5 percent from the floor and added 10 assists.
Concordia snapped a three game losing streak and improved to 11-16 overall (4-11 GPAC) with the win, while the Vikings fall to 11-16 overall (5-10 GPAC).
A dunk by the Vikings Mark Esser pulled the Vikings to within one, 11-10, just over five minutes into the game. In the next four minutes the Bulldogs scored 14 unanswered points to jump out to a 25-10 lead. During the spurt Concordia had two three-point field goals, one each by Benjamin Buhr and Jon Ziegler, to go along with a pair of steals that they converted into buckets.
Dana ended the half on a 6-2 run to pull within nine, 35-26, at the break.
Ziegler set the pace for the Bulldogs in the first five second of the second half as he stepped in front of a Dana pass taking it the distance for a layup. That was the start of a 10-2 run for Concordia. Reggie Corbin capped the run with a jumper in the lane to give the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the night, 17, with 16:41 remaining.
The Bulldog lead stayed in double digits until Rob Cox knocked down a three to cut it to eight. Dana cut the lead to five on three occasions down the stretch, twice on traditional three-point plays by Esser. Esser, who finished the game with 23 points (17 in second half), 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots, had four dunks in the contest.
Each time the Vikings cut the lead to five the Bulldogs countered with a bucket of their own. On two of the three occasions it was Benjamin Buhr who did the damage for the Dogs as he buried a three and was one the receiving end of a nifty pace from Ziegler as he cut the lane for an easy layup.
Leading by just five with 3:29 remaining Beck spurred another Bulldog run hitting a three with 2:55 left. That was the start of an 11-3 run to finish the game for Concordia.
Three players reached double figures for the Bulldogs led by Beck’s 25 points. Ziegler had a well rounded game with 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots. For the third straight game Buhr had four three-point field goals and finished with 14 points.
Esser’s 23 points led the Vikings. Jason Isaacson, who averages 25.5 points per game, added 17 points for Dana.
Concordia, who has only three regular season games remaining, will host Hastings College on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 4:00 p.m. The game can be heard live at www.cune.edu.
Bulldogs split games
18 FEB 2006
The Concordia University, Nebraska men’s basketball team split a pair of games last week. The Bulldogs were able to hang on for a 64-62 victory over Midland Lutheran College on Wednesday night despite being outscored 8-2 in the final 2:16. On Saturday the Bulldogs were not as fortunate, as Doane came from behind for a 55-53 win.
In Fremont the Bulldogs opened up a 13-point lead at the end of the first half thank in part to shooting 45.5 percent from the field and hitting four three point field goals. Scott Beck capped the first half by draining a triple with 11 seconds left.
The Bulldogs maintained their lead throughout the second half. Midland cut the lead to six at the 5:33 mark on a bucket by Pat Bryan. Concordia responded with a 5-0 run, pushing the lead back to 11, 60-49. During the run the Bulldogs had got a traditional three-point play by Beck.
From that point on Midland started chipping away at the Bulldog lead. The Warriors took advantage of two consecutive turnovers by Concordia via fouls. The turnover came as Beck tried to position himself to receive the ball on an inbounds play. John Connot converted a layup on the other end to cut the lead to four.
On the Bulldogs next possession Jon Ziegler drove the right side of the lane and appeared to have scored the layup and been fouled to give the Bulldogs a six point lead, with a chance to make it seven. Instead the official called Ziegler for the offensive foul. Chad Cruise of Midland converted two free throws on the other end after he was fouled to pull the Warriors within two. After a loose ball foul on Beck, Zac Gradoville tied the game at 62 with a pair of free throws.
Ziegler hit a jumper with 28 ticks left to give the Bulldogs the lead for good. Midland couldn’t convert on the other end and Scott Hannon came down with rebound with six seconds and was immediately fouled. He was unable to convert the free throws, but Josh Moline’s jumper was off the mark for the Warriors as time expired.
Against Doane on Saturday the Bulldogs opened up a 14-point lead at the 8:28 mark of the first half. From that point until the end of the half the Bulldogs did not score a field goal. Doane took advantage of the Concordia’s frigid shooting to pull even at intermission, 27-27.
Hannon hit a three with 2:46 left in the game to put the Bulldogs up 51-47. Doane went on a 5-0 run to take the lead. The run consisted of a free throw by Brent Cole and back-to-back buckets by Luke Beerbohm
Concordia took the lead back on another bucket by Hannon with 37 seconds remaining. Matt Vecchio hit a driving layup on the left side and was fouled to take the lead. He also made the free throw to push the lead to 55-53. Ziegler had a chance tie the game, but was defended well by Doane and the shot was short. After a foul by Hannon, Doane was forced to inbound. Beerbohm crossed the plane to give the ball back to Concordia. The Bulldogs were unable to convert.
Concordia will have the chance to avenge the loss as they will travel to Crete to take on the Tigers in the first round of the GPAC tournament on Tuesday, February 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Ziegler, Buhr carry Bulldogs over Doane
21 FEB 2006
The Concordia University, Nebraska men’s basketball team used the one-two punch of Jon Ziegler and Benjamin Buhr to down Doane College 67-60 in the first round of the GPAC tournament on Tuesday night in Crete. Doane was the No. 5 seed while the Bulldogs were the No. 12 seed.
The duo of Buhr and Ziegler accounted for 50 of the Bulldogs 67 points and shot a combined 56 percent from the floor. Ziegler tallied 26 points, 18 in the second half, and pulled down nine rebounds while Buhr finished with 24 points, eight coming at the free throw line.
Concordia (13-18, 5-12 GPAC) move on to face No. 4 seed Dordt on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Sioux Center, Iowa, while Doane’s (14-16, 10-8 GPAC) season comes to an end.
The two teams split their regular season games with each team winning on the others home court. The most recent game came just three days earlier, as the Bulldogs led by as many as 14
in the first half, before Doane came back to defeat Concordia by a bucket. On Tuesday night it looked to be same song, second verse as the Bulldogs opened up an eight point advantage with 7:36 left in the first half, only to see Doane come back and take the lead at intermission 30-29.
The teams went back and forth for the first five minutes of the second half until Scott Beck put Concordia on top for good with a triple at the 14:27 mark.
Concordia pushed their lead to double digits, 52-42, with 9:16 left in the game. Ziegler was responsible for nine of the Bulldogs 12 points in the final 4:33.
Doane would make a a run, getting as close as five, before the Bulldogs put the game away with a flurry of free throws and a couple key offensive rebounds down the stretch. Concordia nailed six free throws in the final 49 seconds.
In addition to the 50 point effort by Buhr and Ziegler, Beck added seven points, and nine boards as the Bulldogs out rebounded the Tigers 42-32. As a team Concordia shot 42.6 percent from the field, including 6 of 14 from beyond the arc.
Doane on the other hand struggled from downtown, hitting only 3 of 19 (15.8 percent). The Tigers had two players in double figures, Brent Cole 13 and Todd Kraus 10, but were cold from the line converting on only 54.2 percent of their chances from the stripe.
Concordia’s second round GPAC tournament game on will be carried live via Webcast at www.cune.edu.
Bulldogs season ends in quarterfinals
23 FEB 2006
The Concordia University men's basketball team mounted a late run but it wasn’t enough as the Dordt College Defenders downed the Bulldogs, 74-65, in the second round of the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament on Thursday in Sioux Center, Iowa.Concordia, who trailed by 11 at halftime, played without the services of senior point guard Scott Beck for the final 11:10 of the first half. Beck was forced to the bench with three fouls. With Beck on the bench, the Bulldog offense struggled to find a rhythm, scoring only 23 points in the opening frame. Another senior, Thad Sankey, provided a spark off the bench, scoring seven points, including a jumper to beat the shot clock.
Dordt opened the lead to as many as 16 in the second half before the Bulldogs started their comeback. It was Ziegler who led the charge for Concordia, scoring 21 of his game high 26 points in the second half.
Even more impressive is the fact that most of those point came after he left the game with a cut above is eye after catching an unintentional elbow playing defense in the lane.
Trailing by nine with 2:02 remaining Ziegler scored the Bulldogs next eight points to cut the lead to three, 65-62, with 1:25 left. In all, Ziegler scored 10 points over a span of 80 seconds. He also added a steal in which he called timeout as he was falling out of bounds.
The Defenders hit their free throws when it counted, hitting seven from the charity stripe in the final 54 seconds.
Reggie Corbin was the only other Bulldog to finish in double figures with 11 points. Benjamin Buhr and Sankey each added seven points. Beck, who played on 25 minutes in the game because of the foul trouble finished with four points.
Concordia finished the season with a record of 13-19 overall and 5-13 in the GPAC.
Dordt moved onto to the semi-finals of the GPAC tournament where the defeated No. 1 seed Sioux Falls on Saturday.