Seesaw Season Opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Minn.-Morris (1-0) | 35 | 51 | 86 |
|
Concordia-M'head (0-1) | 34 | 48 | 82 |
MOORHEAD, Minn. (11/08/19)---It was a back-and-forth season opener for Concordia as they battled Minn.-Morris through 17 lead changes and nine tie scores. The game, which didn't have a lead bigger than seven points, was won in the final three minutes where the Cobbers were outscored 13-8 and lost 86-82 to the Cougars.
Concordia's biggest lead of the game came early in the first half when senior Tommy Schyma knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Cobbers an 11-5 edge with 4:00 gone in the opening period.
The Cobbers would hold the lead until midway through the half but would stay within four points and would retake the lead with a Drew Gustafson "and 1" layup at the 7:49 mark.
The teams would trade leads until the final minutes of the half as Morris took a 35-34 lead into the break.
Concordia would take their first lead of the second half when Schyma drove and connected on a layup to give CC a 40-38 advantage.
The game stayed close down the stretch with the Cobbers holding a 74-73 lead with just under 3:00 to play. Morris then scored the next eight points which proved to be the decisive run of the game.
Concordia shot 50.0% (34-for-68) from the floor and 33.3% (8-for-24) from outside the arc as compared to 42.6% (26-for-61) from the field and 22.2% (6-for-27) from3-point range for the Cougars.
The difference in the game came at the free throw line where Concordia shot a total of 11 foul shots and went 6-for-11. Morris went to the line 32 times and made 28 free throws for an 87.5% success rate.
Morris held a 43-32 edge in rebounding while the Cobbers turned the ball over five fewer times and came away with four more steals.
Schyma led all scorers with 27 points and also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Bryden Urie went 4-for-6 from outside the arc and finished with 14 points.
UP NEXT: Concordia will head to Wisconsin for a pair of games next week. The Cobbers will play at Wis.-Superior on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. and then head straight south to take on Wis.-Stout on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.