A Blistering Long-Ball Performance

MANKATO, Minn. (11/18/17)---Concordia knocked down 15 3-point field goals and scored 88 points but had to survive a last-second game-winning field goal attempt to beat Bethany Lutheran 88-87.

The Cobbers were cruising towards their second straight win of the season when they hit a speed bump with just over eight minutes to play in the second half. A Collin Larson 3-pointer gave Concordia a 17-point lead with 8:35 left to play but then the Vikings made seven of their next 10 field goal attempts and were a 9-for-10 from the free throw line to outscore CC 26-10 in a span of 7:43 to cut the deficit to a single point at 88-87.

Concordia then missed a jumper on their next trip down the floor but Bethany Lutheran matched the miss with a failed jumper attempt at the other end. CC then had a pair of free throw attempts to push the lead to three points with 10-seconds to go but missed each to give the Vikings the ball back with 3.9 seconds left on the clock.

After a Bethany Lutheran timeout, the Vikings raced the ball up the floor and had a potential game-winning jumper from just inside the top of the key rattle off the backboard, bounce off the rim and fall away from the basket.

The one-point win keeps Concordia unbeaten on the year and pushes their record to 2-0. Bethany Lutheran remains winless and falls to 0-2.

The Cobbers' ability to hit shots from outside the arc was the main story of the game. Concordia went 15-for-22 (68.2%) from outside the arc. CC shot 63.6% (7-for-11) from long range in the first half to take a 45-38 lead at the break and then upped that mark to 72.7% (8-for-11) in the second half to score 43 points and win by a single point.

Larson was the main long-range gunner. He went 7-for-9 from outside the arc and finished with a career-high 24 points.

Jacob Pazdernik was 3-for-7 from 3-point range and had a career-high 18 points while Thomas Schyma and Austin Rund knocked down two 3-point shots each. Schyma had 15 points which is also a career-high point total.

Concordia held a 31-30 edge in rebounding but turned the ball over seven more times (15-8) than the Vikings. CC made nine more 3-pointers than Bethany Lutheran but the Vikings held a 19-7 advantage in free throws made.

THE UNBEATEN: Concordia head coach Grant Hemmingsen is now 2-0 in his collegiate coaching career. He is the first Cobber coach to win his first two games on the CC bench since Joe Rognstad did it in the 1938-39 season.

TREY TIME: The 15 made 3-pointers by the Cobbers is the most since the 2003-04 season when Concordia also had 15 in a game against Mayville State on Dec. 19, 2003.  

TREY TIME 2: Collin Larson's seven 3-pointers are a career high and equals the total by Austin Nelson from last year when he canned seven treys on two occasions.

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will step away from UMAC opponents and into a tougher division as they take on Division II MSU Moorhead on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. at Alex Nemzek Hall on the campus of MSU Moorhead.