All The Right Answers To The Preseason Questions

SUPERIOR, Wis. (12/01/13)—Concordia answered all the preseason questions about who would step forward and lead the team in scoring, rebounding and defense. The Cobbers led wire-to-wire against UW-Superior and posted an 84-62 victory to claim the championship of the Merrill Thompson Tournament.

The Cobbers didn't return any of their top seven scorers from last year's MIAC second-place squad and have started the season by winning three of their first four games. CC is now 3-1 on the year as they head into conference play. Superior loses for the first time in three games and is now 2-3 on the year.

Concordia scored the first seven points against the Yellowjackets and never looked back. The Cobbers built a 25-point lead with just under seven minutes to go in the first half before Superior rallied to close the gap to 14 points at 45-31 at the half.

The Cobbers never allowed Superior to get within 10 points. The Yellowjackets cut the lead to 10 points on three occasions and each time CC responded by getting a field goal on the very next possession. The final time Superior cut the margin to 10 points at 61-51 with 12:21 left in the second half, Concordia proceeded to rattle off a 13-4 run to push the lead to 19 points at 74-55 with 5:21 left.

Concordia had four players score at least 10 points for the second straight game. Brandon Giese led the way for the young Cobbers. He went 5-for-9 from outside the arc and finished with a career-high 17 points.

Jordan Bolger was one rebound shy of his second straight double-double. He was 5-for-7 from the floor, scored 11 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Brady Syverson had 12 points while Ryan Rude added 11 points and a game-high five assists. 

Both teams shot around 46.0% from the field for the game. The big advantage for the Cobbers came from field goal attempts. Concordia took 24 more shots from the floor than the Yellowjackets. CC connected on 34 of their 73 field goal attempts while Superior knocked down 23 of their 49 shots from the floor. The Cobbers shot 36.4% (8-for-22) from 3-point range and Superior made 30% (3-for-10) of their long-range attempts.

Concordia once again pounded the offensive glass and came away with a decided advantage in second-chance points. The Cobbers grabbed 14 offensive boards and held an 11-0 edge in turning those rebounds into points. CC held a 39-29 advantage in total rebounds.

The Cobbers also turned up the pressure on defense to create more scoring opportunities against Superior. Concordia forced 19 turnovers in the game including five in the first 2:12 of the game.

Concordia will now turn its attention to conference play. The Cobbers will open the MIAC season when they play at Macalester on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 7:45 p.m.