Red-Hot Bergeson Can't Rescue Cobbers At Augsburg

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (2/03/14) – Despite outscoring Augsburg 43-35 in the second half and connecting on nine 3-pointers in the game, the Cobbers lost 79-69 to the Auggies in Minneapolis.

The culprit for Concordia was a 21-point hole that CC dug in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Cobbers were outscored 17-2, connected on their first field goal attempt and then went 3-for-12 and committed four turnovers over the next 8:53 and trailed 29-8.

That early-game stumble snapped Concordia's two-game win streak and dropped the Cobbers to 10-10 overall and 6-9 in league play. Augsburg wins for the eighth time in the last 10 games and is now 13-6 in all games and 9-5 in the MIAC.

If you take the first 10:57 out of the game, Concordia wound up outscoring the Auggies 61-49 over the final 29:03 of the game. Unfortunately college games are played for 40 minutes and CC lost for only the second time in the last five games.

The reason for the Cobbers' comeback in the second half was the ability to make 3-pointers and the sharpshooting of sophomore guard Brett Bergeson. Bergeson went 3-for-7 from behind the arc and finished with a career-high 26 points. He becomes the fourth Concordia player to score at least 20 points in a game and third to go for 25 or more.

The Cobbers trimmed the Augsburg lead down to just seven points at 57-50 with 9:24 left in the game but the Auggies responded with an "and one" to retake a double digit lead. Augsburg would then push the margin back to 16 points with under 3-minutes to play before CC would cut the final margin to 10 points.

Besides Bergeson's red-hot 6-for-13 shooting performance from outside the arc, Concordia got 17 points from the inside presence of Jordan Bolger. He was 8-for-13 from the floor and also had three assists. Brady Syverson added eight points and a team-high five rebounds.

The three biggest statistical differences came from free throws, points off of turnovers and points in the paint.

Augsburg shot 18 more free throws in the game. AC went 17-for-26 from the foul line while the Cobbers went to free throw stripe a season low eight times – and made four of those attempts. Both teams had 11 miscues in the game but Augsburg's quick transition game led to a 20-8 margin in getting points from those turnovers. The Auggies also used their size to gain a 36-22 edge in points around the basket.

Concordia will look to get back on the winning track when they host St. Olaf on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7:45 p.m. The Cobbers are 4-0 in games at home played on a Wednesday.