Protecting The Barn

Game recap courtesy of the Forum and reporter Eric Peterson

MOORHEAD—Concordia Cobbers senior Dylan Alderman went on the attack for a six-minute stretch in the first half Wednesday, Jan. 11, at Memorial Auditorium.

Alderman scored nine in a string of 12 consecutive Concordia points. That rally vaulted the Cobbers into the lead for good and sparked a 63-55 victory against Carleton in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball.

"Dylan made some big plays with his drives," Cobbers head coach Rich Glas said.

The Cobbers (7-5, 4-3 MIAC) moved above .500 in the conference with the victory. Concordia has won two of its last three games. Alderman finished with a game-high 18 points, tying senior teammate Austin Nelson with those honors.

"When you're in your barn you've got to find a way to win," Glas said. "We found a way to win tonight."

Carleton built an early 14-10 lead before the Cobbers countered with 12 consecutive points. Alderman started the rally and scored on a drive to the basket. He added a three-point play before scoring on two more drives to the hoop. The 6-foot-2 senior capped the rally with a layup that gave the Cobbers a 22-14 lead with 3 minutes, 33 seconds to play in the first half.

"He's good at getting downhill," Glas said. "His going to the hoop is tough to stop."

The Cobbers led by as many as 12 points in the second half before the Knights made a late run. Carleton cut the Concordia lead to 59-55 after senior guard Mitchell Biewen with 37 seconds remaining.

"They're always going to make it a battle," Alderman said of the Knights. "They play everyone close."

The Cobbers went 4 of 4 from the foul line in the final 34 seconds to seal the victory. Nelson and Alderman both made two foul shots during that stretch.

"Late in the game, we had guys make big shots," Alderman said. "We just had guys make plays."

Glas liked the bench boost the Cobbers received in the second half. Concordia registered 10 consecutive points during one stretch, with reserves Chris Duke and Kevin Wolfe scoring four each during that rally. Wolfe capped the run with an inside basket that gave the Cobbers a 41-29 lead with 10:45 remaining.

"We got some good energy off the bench to make things happen," Glas said.

COBBER SID GAME NOTES
PROTECT THE BARN: Concordia has now won three straight games in Memorial Auditorium and is 4-1 in "The Barn" this year. The Cobbers are 21-8 in Memorial Auditorium in the past three seasons.

DROPPING DIMES: Senior Zach Kinny continues to lead the MIAC in assists per game. He had four more dimes on Wednesday and now has 73 for the year. He is averaging 6.1 helpers per game which is 1.2 more assists than the next player on the conference list. Kinny has had at least four assists in 10 of the team's 12 games this year.  

FIRST HALF FIENDS: The Cobbers outscored Carleton 27-19 in the first half and have outscored their opponents in seven of the 12 games this season. CC is 6-1 when they lead at the half.    

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will head south to St. Paul to take on St. Thomas on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 3 p.m. The Tommies also have three losses in conference play this year and are 5-3 in the MIAC and 9-4 overall. UST is coming off a 64-56 loss at home to St. Olaf on Wednesday.  

CONCORDIA vs. CARLETON HIGHLIGHTS