Bergeson's Long-Range Shooting Breaks The China

ST. PETER, Minn. (1/14/15)--- Brett Bergeson made sure there would be no "china" anniversary for Concordia's win drought at Gustavus. The junior guard knocked down two huge 3-point field goals in the second half, scored eight points in the final five minutes of play and helped the Cobbers end their 19-game losing skid in St. Peter.

Concordia overcame a 29.4% (5-for-17) shooting night from outside the arc to outlast the Gusties 48-45. The score line was eerily similar to the last time the Cobbers won at Gustavus. CC last beat Gustavus 47-43 in the championship game of the MIAC Tournament in 1996 – a losing streak that encompassed 19 games.

The streak-ending win is especially crucial for the Cobbers in the terms of league standings. Concordia jumps into a tie for fifth place in the MIAC standings with Gustavus and Augsburg. CC is now 8-4 overall and 4-3 in conference play. The Gusties, who lose for the third time in the last four games, have an identical record as Concordia.    

Bergeson's late-game heroics helped Concordia erase a 3-point deficit with just over five minutes to play. He hit his first 3-pointer of the second half with 4:39 to play to give CC a 41-39 lead. He then knocked down his second long-range shot the next trip down the court to give the Cobbers' their biggest lead of the game of five points at 44-39. Bergeson finished off the game at the free throw line. With Concordia clinging to a one-point lead at 46-45 with 13-seconds left to play, Bergeson stepped to the free throw line and calmly sank both ends of a 1-and-1. Brandon Giese ended the game when he stole a pass as the Gusties tried to set up a game-tying 3-point field goal in the final seconds of the second half.

The game was played within a five-point cushion the entire 40 minutes. Neither team had more than a five-point margin in a contest that featured seven tie scores and 12 lead changes. Gustavus' biggest lead was three points which came at 17-14 in the first half and then at 39-36 with 7:23 left in the final period.

Concordia shot 40.0% (20-for-50) from the floor for the game and under 30.0% from outside the arc for the third time in the last four games. CC also a season-low four free throw attempts. Gustavus made 38.6% (17-for-44) of their attempts from the floor and was a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range.|

Bergeson finished with a season-high 15 points. He led all players in scoring for the night. Jordan Bolger wound up with 14 points, 12 of which came in the first half alone. He also added a game-high eight rebounds.

Tom Fraase and Brady Syverson also came up with clutch stretches of play for the Cobbers. Fraase was 2-for-6 from outside the arc and finished with eight points while Syverson had six key rebounds to go along with four points.

Concordia will finish off their three-game road swing when they play at Augsburg on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 3 p.m. The Cobbers will then open a five-game home stand beginning on Monday, Jan. 19 when they host defending MIAC tournament champion St. Olaf.