Playoff Hopes Are Still Alive

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/10/14)—Concordia's playoff hopes continue to live. The Cobbers overcame a three-point halftime deficit by shooting 60.7% (17-for-28) from the floor in the final 20 minutes of play and beat Carleton 67-60.

The win keeps Concordia in the hunt for the sixth, and final, conference playoff spot. The Cobbers are 7-10 in league play and sit two games behind Bethel for sixth place in the conference standings with three games left to play in the regular season. CC is now 11-11 in all games.

The Cobbers offense was sporadic in the first half but then found consistency in the second period behind the inside game of Jordan Bolger and the clutch outside shooting of Tom Fraase. Bolger finished with a game-high 17 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. He scored 13 of his 17 points in the final period of play. Fraase was 3-for-4 from behind the arc in the second half and hit on a pair of key long-range shots with the game hanging in the balance. Fraase finished with 15 points, 11 of which came in the second half.

Concordia had a decided edge in scoring around the basket as the Cobbers used a high-tempo pace and high-energy aggression to grab rebounds and earn second-chance looks at the basket. CC outscored Carleton 38-22 in points in the paint. That would be the only statistical category that wasn't almost deadlocked between the two teams.

Concordia finished the game by shooting 54.0% (27-for-50) from the floor and 41.7% (5-for-12) from outside the arc. The Knights connected on 47.9% (23-for-48) of their shots from the field and 55.6% (5-for-9) of their 3-point field goal attempts.

Brandon Giese was the third member of the Cobber starting five to score in double figures. He went 4-for-9 from the floor and had 10 points.

The Cobbers will look to keep their playoff trek on track when they host league-leading St. Thomas on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m.