Calling On Collin

STORY LINE: Senior Collin Larson drained a half-court buzzer beater to break a 76-76 tie and give Concordia a 79-76 win over Augsburg. Larson collected a defensive rebound with 4-seconds left on the clock, dribbled towards the right side of half court and then uncorked a high arcing shot that dropped straight into the basket.

RECORDS: Concordia wins for the second time in the last three games and has now won three straight home games. The Cobbers are 7-12 overall and 6-8 in the MIAC. The seven overall wins is one more than they had in all of last season. CC is currently tied for sixth place in the conference standings. Augsburg has their 3-game win streak come to an end and is now 13-5 in all games and 9-4 in conference play.

GREAT DAY FOR GRANT: Cobber head coach Grant Hemmingsen had a day to remember. He welcomed his first kid into the world at 3:32 a.m. and then watched from the hospital room as his team won on a buzzer beater. Grant's wife Kari gave birth to their first child, Quinn, early in the morning and then the two were able to watch the game on the phone as CC outlasted Augsburg – Grant's alma mater.

YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE: Concordia fell behind by double digits on two occasions in the second half but each time they responded with game-saving runs. The Cobbers trailed by 12 at 45-33 with 18:02 left to play but then responded with a 10-0 run to cut the lead to two points. CC then fell behind by 10 points at 59-49 with 14:02 to play and went on another 10-0 run to tie the game at 59-59 with 10:18 left in the second half.         

BACK-AND-FORTH DOWN THE STRETCH: Neither team was able to break away in the final minutes of play. The teams were within three points of each other for the final 10 minutes of the game. Concordia held a 73-70 lead with 2:30 to play before Augsburg tied the game on an "and one".  The Auggies would take a 76-73 lead at the 36-second mark before senior Jordan Davis knocked down a contested 3-pointer from the left wing. Augsburg then had possession of the ball and missed a layup before Collin Larson grabbed the ball and advanced the ball to make his half court special.

CALLING ON COLLIN: Collin Larson was 6-for-8 from outside the arc and finished with a team-high 22 points. The 22 points is a season best for Larson. The only other game that Larson had 20 or more points in a game this season came in the first meeting with the Auggies. He put up 20 points in the game in Minneapolis.

COLLIN LARSON BUZZER BEATER:


STAT STUFF: Concordia shot a season-best 57.4% (31-for-54) from the floor and 52.9% (9-for-17) from outside the arc. The Auggies made 39.4% (26-for-66) of their shots from the floor and 40.7% (11-for-27) from long range. The Cobbers held a 37-32 edge in rebounding and 32-26 advantage in points in the paint.

UP NEXT: Concordia has a rare week off before stepping back on the court. The Cobbers will put their unbeaten record in Quinn Hemmingsen's lifetime on the line when they host St. Olaf on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. The Cobbers beat the Oles in their first meeting on a last-second shot by Tommy Schyma. The Oles are now 9-9 overall and 8-5 in the MIAC.