Fading Into The New Year

MOORHEAD, Minn. (12/30/17)---Concordia went back-and-forth with St. Scholastica for the first 30 minutes but then ran out of gas and had the Saints get hot from the outside as they fell 90-77 in the final game of the 2017 calendar year.

The Cobbers held a one-point advantage at the halfway point of the second period but then St. Scholastica went on a 10-2 run to take a 69-62 lead to seize control of the game. Concordia was able to cut the lead to four points on several occasions and trailed 74-70 before the Saints scored on three straight possessions and pushed the lead to 10 points at 80-70 with 3:44 left to play.

The loss is the third straight for Concordia who falls to 3-6 on the season. St. Scholastica wins for the third time in the past five games and is now 5-6 for the year.

The Cobbers controlled the game from around the basket and outscored the Saints 32-22 in points in the paint. Unfortunately Concordia's edge inside was offset by St. Scholastica's ability to knock down the outside jumper. The Saints shot 52.4% (11-for-21) from outside the arc which included a couple of clutch makes down the stretch with the game hanging in the balance.

Concordia held a 35-31 advantage in rebounding but St. Scholastica was able to make eight more free throws as they went 17-for-28 (60.7%) from the foul line as compared to 9-for-17 (52.9%) for the Cobbers.

Collin Larson led Concordia in scoring as he went 7-for-14 from the floor and finished with 17 points. He had 12 of his team-high 17 points in the first half.

Sophomore guard Tommy Schyma scored eight points in the second half and ended the game with 14 points. He was the only other CC player in double figures in scoring.

Senior center Austin Heins got into foul trouble in the first half, committed his fourth foul with 14:00 left in the second half but still led all players in rebounding with seven boards.

CONCSISTENT COBBERS: Concordia entered the game ranked ninth in Division III in field goal percentage with a 51.7% mark for the year. The Cobbers didn't vary from that mark on Saturday as they shot exactly 51.7% (30-for-58) from the floor vs. the Saints.

PUT EM' UP:  The 58 field goal attempts is a season high for the Cobbers. The previous season high was 57 at Bethany Lutheran.

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will usher in the New Year with a return to conference play when they host St. John's on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 5:45 p.m. The Johnnies are currently 8-1 on the year and ranked 21st in the latest D3hoops.com national rankings. SJU has won six straight games and is coming off an 89-67 win over Wis.-Superior on Dec. 29.