A Class Of Winners

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/20/15) --- Five Cobbers scored in double figures as Concordia beat Macalester 81-58 on a day that honored the eight Cobber seniors.

Jordan Bolger, Tom Fraase, Isaac Anderson, Austin Rund and Austin Heins all posted double-digit scoring totals as they helped the Cobbers earn their sixth win in the last eight games.      

The victory also helps Concordia finish in a tie for third place in the final league standings with a 13-7 record. Because of the conference tie-breaking procedure CC will be the No.4 seed in the upcoming conference tournament. The 13 MIAC wins is the second most for the Cobbers since the 2004 season. Concordia also climbs to 16-9 overall.    

Concordia trailed 12-4 early thanks to Macalester's Kareem Ismail, who scored eight quick points in the first four minutes. 

The Scots' junior center has played extremely well against the Cobbers in his career. Ismail, who had 20 points on Saturday, averages a double-double against CC, with a six-game average of 20 points and 11 rebounds. He is shooting 58.0% shooting from the field and 74.2% from the foul line against the Cobbers.   

Ismail had 12 points in the first eight minutes of the game but that's when CC made it's run. 

At the 7:05 mark of the first half, Fraase drilled a 3-pointer that gave the Cobbers the lead for the first time since Dylan Alderman's layup 20 seconds into the game put the Cobbers up 2-0. 

Concordia went on a 19-8 run over the final 7:05 of the half, in large part to sophomore Rund who buried a pair of triples and got to the foul line for a pair of free throws on three consecutive possessions. 

Bolger scored seven of the last nine points of the half to make it 39-27 at the break. 

Ismail scored the first basket of the second half but the Cobbers continued to extend their lead. Austin Nelson got out on the break for a layup then hit a smooth wing jumper the next possession. 

A couple minutes later Nelson scored again followed moments later by another Fraase triple to make it 50-37. 

At the 11:08 mark Ismail scored inside again, but Bolger converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to spark a string where the Cobbers scored on seven of nine possessions and built a 21-point lead with 7:46 to play. 

Heins ended a two-minute scoreless drought by dumping in six points in five possessions and then Bolger capped his senior day off by hitting a pick and pop trifecta from 25 feet. 

Bolger and Fraase were taken out at the 1:54 mark to a standing ovation from the Memorial faithful. 

To finish the scoring, Rund hit another 3-pointer and senior Corey Abbas, who started in place of Nelson, had a layup and a basket with a foul that caused the Cobber bench to erupt. 

CC shot 56.6% (30-of-53) compared to the Scots' 50.0% (22-of-44) and outrebounded the Scots 27-24. 

The Cobbers' had solid bench production and outscored Macalester's bench 28-16. 

Macalester's largest lead was at the 12:20 mark of the first half, but Concordia held it's largest lead of 23 with 31 ticks left on the clock. 

THANK YOU SENIORS
The eight Cobber seniors will go down as one of the best (and largest) senior class in Cobber history. The class of 2016 has the third best four-year winning percentage in program history. To date, Concordia has a winning percentage of 59.8% (61-41) and sits behind the class of '97 (62.6%, 62-37) and the class of 1932 (70.0%, 49-21). 

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS
The tandem of Austin and Austin showed Cobber fans there is up-and-coming talent in the program. Austin Rund and Austin Heins, who are roommates, chipped in career-highs of 11 and 10 points. 

M-V-P CAMPAIGN STATEMENTS
Jordan Bolger ended his M-V-P campaign on Saturday by scoring a team-high 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting.  He is averaging 19.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game and has scored in double figures in all 22 games he has played in this season. To put his career in perspective – Bolger has started 68 games for the Cobbers and has scored in double figures in 60 of those contests.

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Cobbers shot 56.6% from the field, marking the fifteenth game this season the team has shot 50.0% or more from the floor. The 50-percent shooting percentage is the magic number for Concordia. CC is 15-0 when they make at least half of their shots in a game. CC's shooting percentage of 51.2% is the second best percentage in the nation. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
No. 4 seed Concordia will host No. 5 seed Bethel in the quarterfinal round of the MIAC tournament on Wednesday, February 24 at 7 p.m.  The Cobbers split the season series with the Royals – losing 75-66 at Bethel and beating BU 69-61 at home. The Royals have won back-to-back games and three of their last four with the lone loss coming at the hands of conference champion St. Thomas.