Shot, Buzzer, Win

MOORHEAD, Minn. (12/11/12)—Ebo Nana-Kweson drained a dramatic 21-foot running jumper at the buzzer in the first overtime to give Concordia a crucial 78-75 win over Carleton. The Cobbers rallied from an eight-point deficit in the final 10 minutes of the second half and then outscored the Knights 10-7 to record their second straight conference home win.

Nana-Kweson's heroics came after Carleton missed a pair of chances to take a lead in the final 30-second of overtime. Andrew Martinson grabbed a rebound after a second miss with just 8-seconds to play and kicked it to Nana-Kweson who dribbled over half court, then put up the game-winning shot from the left side of the 3-point arc. The shot, which just beat the buzzer, hit nothing but the bottom of the net and triggered off a team-wide celebration.

The win, in a critical conference game, allows Concordia to go into the holiday break at 2-2 in conference play and tied for fifth place in the league standings. The Cobbers are now 4-4 in all games. Carleton loses for the first time in the MIAC and falls to 2-1 in the conference and 4-3 overall.

In addition to the dramatic game-winning shot from Nana-Kweson, the Cobbers won the game around the basket. Starting center Jason Huus had 22 points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks and Concordia had a decisive 38-24 edge in points in the paint. The edge around the hoop was evident in the second-half rally when the Cobbers were able to get key offensive rebounds that were a part of 15 second-chance points.

Concordia received a quality contribution from reserve forward Brandon Fisher. Fisher came off the bench to score 17 points and drain a team-high three shots from behind the arc. Nana-Kweson had a pair of long-range field goals and ended the game with 16 points and five rebounds. He also had four assists.

The success inside the paint on the offensive end helped the Cobbers shoot better 50.0% from the field for just the third game of the year. Concordia connected on 50.7% (34-for-67) from the field.

Carleton shot 41.5% (27-for-65) from the field and 39.1% (9-for-23) from 3-point range. The Knights were led by forward Scott Theisen who had a career-high 31 points and a game-high 14 rebounds to record his first double-double of the season.

The Cobbers will now have an 18-day break for the holiday break. CC will return to action when they play at St. Scholastica on Saturday, Dec. 29 at 1 p.m. in the final non-conference game of the season.