Flipping The Script Leads To First Win

MENOMONIE, Wis. (11/13/19)---Concordia flipped the script from their game at Wis.-Superior on Tuesday to beat Wis.-Stout on Wednesday. The Cobbers were red-hot in the first half and then held on down the stretch to beat the Blue Devils 92-90.

Concordia shot 58.6% (17-for-29) from the floor and 50.0% (5-for-10) from 3-point range in the first half as they built up an eight-point lead at the half.

The win is the first of the year for the Cobbers who split their back-to-back games in Wisconsin. Concordia is now 1-2. Stout falls for the second time this year and drops to 0-2.

The 92 points scored by the Cobbers is a season high and the most since they put up the century mark against Macalester on Jan. 78, 2018.

Concordia continues its streak of high-scoring offensive games. The Cobbers have posted at least 80 points in two of the three games this season.     

The teams traded baskets for the first 15 minutes of play. Concordia took the lead for good when they went on a 13-3 run in the final minutes of the opening period to turn a slim 29-28 lead into a double-digit advantage at 42-31.

Stout would trim the lead under double figures at the half but then an 8-2 surge to start the second period would push the lead to 14 points at 58-44. The Cobbers pushed the lead to 18 points before the Blue Devils started their comeback with just over 6-minutes left to play in the game.

Concordia held a 9-point lead at 89-80 when Bryden Urie connected on a jumper with 51-seconds left to play but then a five straight points by Stout brought the score to 89-85 with 29-seconds to play. The Cobbers finished off the game by making three straight free throws and not allowing the Blue Devils to connect on any 3-point shots in the final second of play.

Concordia shot 57.1% (28-for-49) from the field and 47.1% (8-for-17) from outside the arc while Stout hit on 41.9% (31-for-74) of their shots from the floor but only 26.9% (7-for-26) of their attempts from 3-point range.

The game featured 72 free throws and 57 fouls. The Cobbers went 28-for-37 (75.7%) from the foul line and Stout was 21-for-35 (60.0%) from the line. The 28 made free throws and 37 attempts are both season highs for CC. Both free throw numbers are also more than the Cobbers had in all of last season. The 37 total foul shots is the most since the 2017-18 season when had 39 in a game against St. John's and the 28 makes is the most since Concordia made 31 free throws in a game against Gustavus on Feb. 6, 2016.

Senior Tommy Schyma continued his 20-point tear to start the season. He went 3-for-9 from the field but went 14-for-26 from the free throw line and finished with 21 points. He has now scored at least 20 points in all three of the team's games this year and is averaging 24.3 ppg. Schyma also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and leads CC with a 6.3 rebounds per game average.

For the second straight night Urie and John Reiten also scored in double figures. Urie was 6-for-11 from the floor and had 15 points while Reiten went 4-for-5 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free throw line and added 13 points. Urie also dished out a game-high five assists.

Freshman Camden Arndt had his best game in maroon and gold. He came off the bench and scored 14 points on a 5-for-9 shooting night. He also supplied the offensive highlight of the night when he threw down a dunk in the first half of play.

UP NEXT: Concordia return home and play their second-to-last non-conference game of the season. The Cobbers will host St. Scholastica on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Saints are 0-2 on the season and have lost games against WIAC opponents Wis.-Eau Claire and Wis.-River Falls.