Streak-Stopping Win Pushes Cobbers Into Second

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. (1/09/13)—Despite not having their best shooting night and being outrebounded, Concordia was able to grin out their first win at St. John's since 1995. The Cobbers held off the Johnnies in the final minute of play to post a 70-67 win in Collegeville.

The Cobbers led for all but 20-seconds in the game as they recorded their sixth straight win. It is the longest winning streak for Concordia since the 2003-04 season. The Cobbers are now 9-4 in all games which marks the first time since the 2003-04 the team has been five games above the .500 mark.

In addition to the streak-stopping win in Collegeville, the victory also catapults Concordia into second place in the MIAC standings. The Cobbers are 6-2 in league play and .5 games ahead of Augsburg who lost at Carleton on Wednesday.  

"We were able to grind out a win in a very tough place to play," responded Cobber head coach Rich Glas. "We had several key chances to pull away from St. John's but didn't make an open shot or connect on our free throws."

The Cobbers held a nine-point lead with 1:28 to play but then watched as the Johnnies scored on five possessions and cut the lead to 68-67 with 17-seconds remaining. Concordia then connected on one of two free throws on their next possession and came up with a huge stop after a missed layup. During the critical final 1:29 of play, CC made just 50.0% (5-for-10) of their free throw attempts and had a key turnover just before SJU cut the margin to a single point.

Concordia shot 45.1% (23-for-51) from the floor and only 14.3% (2-for-14) from 3-point range. It is the first time they had shot under 50.0% from the field in the past six games and marks only the second time all season they have shot under 20.0% from behind the arc.

The Cobbers had three of their five starting players score in double figures. Aaron Lindahl and Brandon Fisher had 14 points each and Ebo Nana-Kweson added 11 points. Lindahl also had a team-high seven rebounds. Senior point guard Dewon McKenzie had nine points, four steals and three assists. Scott Flotterud came off the bench to score nine points and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the free throw line.

Concordia returns home to put their six-game win streak on the line when they host Hamline on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 3 p.m.