Outside Shooting and Miscues Lead To Win At Hamline

ST. PAUL, Minn. (2/22/14)—Concordia closed out the 2013-14 season by using the old cliché, "it's not how you start, it's how you finish". The Cobbers shot 52.9% from 3-point range, held a plus-9 advantage in turnovers and came away with an 80-51 win at Hamline in the season finale.

The 29-point margin of victory was the largest of the season for the Cobbers who end their year with a 12-13 record in all games and an 8-12 record in conference play.    

Concordia never trailed after the third minute of play in the first half. CC went on a 10-0 run to grab a 10-2 lead and then extended the margin to 10 points at the half with a 35-25 score. Brady Syverson was the catalyst behind the Cobbers' first-half push. He scored 13 of his game-high 19 points in the opening period of play.

The second half was more of the same as Concordia's defense pressured the Hamline attack into tough shots or errant passes. The Cobber offense scored 23 of the first 30 points in the final frame to push the lead to 26 points at 58-32 with 13:09 remaining.

Syverson finished the game by going 8-for-10 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the line. His 19 points are the second highest of his career. He had 21 when the teams played earlier in the season.

Concordia's better than 50-percent shooting from outside the arc was led by Brandon Giese who went 4-for-7 from 3-point range and finished with 18 points. It is the fifth time this season he has made at least four 3-pointers in a game.

The Cobbers wound up shooting 49.1% (28-for-57) from the floor for the game while the Pipers connected on 35.6% (21-for-59) of their shots from the field and 26.3% (5-for-19) of their attempts from outside the arc.

Besides the outside shooting difference, the Cobbers also held a decided edge from the free throw line. CC attempted, and made, more than three times the number of free throws than the Pipers. Concordia was 15-for-22 from the foul line while Hamline went 4-for-6 at the free throw stripe.

Concordia also forced 17 turnovers and committed only eight miscues which turned into a 23-13 edge in points off of turnovers.

Jordan Bolger had a game-high eight rebounds for the Cobbers. He also finished with eight points and ends the season as the team's top scorer (12.9 ppg) and rebounder (6.7 ppg).