Urie Stepping To The Win

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/07/18)---Professional players from Europe are known for taking a "Euro" step on their way to the basket in order to get around defenders. On Wednesday the Cobbers used their own version as they "Urie" stepped past St. Mary's 86-77.

Freshman point guard Bryden Urie was unstoppable off the dribble and tied a career high for points as he helped the Cobbers roll past the Cardinals by nine. Urie's final stat line was 21 points, six rebounds and three assists.

"Bryden has an extremely quick first step," said head coach Grant Hemmingsen. "He is tough to guard at the point and when he can get to the basket good things happen for our team."

Good things did happen for the Cobbers as Urie scored 14 points in the second half and continually thwarted any Cardinal comeback attempt. Urie was 5-for-10 from the floor and 1-for-1 from outside the arc in the second half of play.

The turning points of the game came at the end of the first half and then in the first seven minutes of the second period. Concordia went on a 10-2 run in the final four minutes of the opening period of play to turn a 3-point advantage at 35-32 into an 11-point halftime lead at 45-34.

The Cobbers then stretched that lead to 17 points before the second period was less than seven minutes old. Urie made his only 3-ball during that stretch and also sank two free throws to help CC take a 58-41 lead with 13:05 left in regulation.

Urie was joined by junior Jordan Davis as the only Cobbers on the scoresheet to finish with more than nine points. Davis went 5-for-8 from the floor and 7-for-9 from the foul line and ended the game with 18 points. He also grabbed six rebounds.

Andrew Holen led Concordia in rebounds as he collected seven boards to go along with six points.

Concordia shot 56.0% (28-for-50) from the floor and 35.7% (5-for-14) from outside the arc. The Cobbers made their mark at the free throw line where they sank 25 foul shots and shot 80.6%.

FOUL TROUBLE: The two teams combined for 45 fouls in the game. That is a season high in a conference game for Concordia and the second most in any game this season. The Cobbers and Minn.-Morris were whistled for 55 infractions in the very first game of the year.

REBOUND REPORT: Concordia outrebounded St. Mary's 37-26 for the game. The 11-rebound advantage is the second highest of the year for CC. The Cobbers have now outrebounded their opponents in 11 games this season and have been outrebounded in 11 games.  Concordia is 6-5 when they grab more boards and 0-11 when they have fewer rebounds.

MAKES NO DIFFERENCE: Concordia now has the same record in home games as they do in games on the road this season. The Cobbers are 3-8 in Memorial Auditorium and 3-8 when they leave Moorhead.  

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will have a two-game road trip before returning home to host the final game of the season on Feb. 17. The Cobbers will travel to Northfield to take on Carleton on Saturday, Feb. 10. The Knights are clinging to the final playoff spot with a 10-7 league record. They are 12-10 overall and dropped their last two games.