Second-Half Struggles Spell Loss To St. Olaf
MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/08/12)—Concordia was
outscored by 14 in the second half and wound up losing 81-64 to St.
Olaf on Wednesday in Moorhead. The Cobbers gave up 46 points in the
final 20 minutes of play and lost for the fifth straight time.
The Cobbers trailed by only three points at the break but then
allowed the Oles to shoot 58.1% (18-for-31) in the second half. CC
was never able to put together back-to-back stops on a consistent
basis and fell for the eighth time in the last 10 games. Concordia
is now 7-15 overall and 5-12 in the MIAC. St. Olaf wins for the
sixth time in the last seven games and moves to 13-9 in all games
and 12-5 in league play. The Oles remain in sole possession of
third place in the conference standings.
Concordia led only twice in the game. The Cobbers trailed by as
many as seven points in the first six minutes of play but then went
on a 10-2 run to grab a 15-14 lead at the 8:46 mark of the opening
period. St. Olaf countered with a 10-2 run of their own at the end
of the first half regain a seven-point lead before CC made the
final four points of the period to trail 35-32 at the break.
The Cobbers stumbled out of the gate in the second half. Concordia
was outscored 10-3 in the first 3:15 and fell behind by 10. CC
would then trail by double digits for most of the second half and
finally lost by 17.
St. Olaf took advantage of 15 Cobber turnovers and raced to a 25-6
edge in points off of turnovers.
Concordia had three starting players in double figures in scoring.
Center Jason Huus was 6-for-8 from the floor and
came away with team highs in points (16) and rebounds (8).
Brandon Fisher was 6-for-9 from the floor and had
12 points while Ebo Nana-Kweson added 10
points.
The Oles had four starting players with at least 10 points and
were led by senior guard Bobby Fong who had a
game-high 27 points. Fong has now scored 63 points points in his
last two games. Connor Gunderson finished with 11
points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Concordia will play at St. Thomas on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 3
p.m.