Losing The Game But Winning The MIAC Playoff Battle

NORTHFIELD, Minn. (2/18/15)—Concordia may have lost the single game to No.15-ranked St. Olaf but it won the season-long battle to get into the postseason.

Brett Bergeson went on a 3-point shooting spree in the final 1:30 of play but it wasn't enough for the Cobbers to overcome a 15-3 second-half run by the Oles and they lost 65-60. The good news for Concordia came when St. Olaf was finishing their decisive run in the second period as St. John's finished off a win over Augsburg which clinched an MIAC playoff berth for the Cobbers.

Concordia is now 10-9 in conference play and assured of either the No.5 or No.6 seed for the upcoming conference tournament. The Cobbers will be making their second MIAC playoff appearance in the past two season and third in the past five years. 

Nationally-ranked St. Olaf wins for the eighth time in the last nine games and moves to 21-4 in all games and 16-4 in league play.      

For the second game in-a-row the Cobbers led for almost the entire first half and then watched their opponent take control of the game midway through the second period. Concordia built a 10-point lead towards the end of the opening period of play and took an eight-point advantage into the break at 28-20.

The Cobbers' lead slowly dwindled in the first seven minutes of play before the Oles seized control of the game with the 15-3 streak. Concordia went 1-for-9 (11.1%) and committed eight turnovers from the 12-minute period between 13:30 and 1:30. For the other 28 minutes in the game, Concordia shot 21-for-45 (46.7%) from the field and committed only five turnovers.

Concordia held a significant edge in rebounding for the game. CC outrebounded the Oles 38-24 including a 12-3 margin in offensive rebounds. The Cobbers also took nine more field goal attempts but St. Olaf connected on 12 more free throw attempts. The Oles went 14-for-16 (87.5%) in the final two minutes of play.

Cobber junior Jordan Bolger continued his streak of double-digit scoring games. He went 7-for-16 from the floor and finished with 15 points. He also hauled down a game-high 14 rebounds to record his seventh double-double of the season and the ninth of his career.

Bergeson and Brandon Giese added nine points each. Bergeson hit a trio of 3-pointers in the final 1:30 of play to account for all his scoring while Giese was 3-for-10 from outside the arc and also scored all his points from 3-point range. Scott Flotterud added six points, three rebounds and three blocks.

Concordia will finish off the regular season when they host Augsburg on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 3 p.m. A win by the Cobbers coupled with a loss by Gustavus at St. John's will give CC the No.5 seed for the playoffs. Any other combination of wins and losses by the two teams will have Concordia as the No.6 seed for the upcoming conference tournament.