Toughness Down The Stretch Gives Cobbers Another Home Win

MOORHEAD, Minn. (01/15/22)---Concordia used its length around the basket to manufacture points and get to the free throw line on a consistent basis as they outlasted St. Mary's 73-67 in a key MIAC match-up.

The Cobbers outscored the Cardinals 44-26 in points in the paint and made 13 more foul shots to record their third straight win at home. CC is now 4-1 inside the friendly confines of Memorial Auditorium.

The victory also improves Concordia's record to 4-7 on the year and 3-5 in league play. St. Mary's loses for the third straight games and is now 5-8 in all games and 3-6 in the MIAC.

The critical part of the game on Saturday came in the last 7-minutes of play. The Cardinals connected on a layup to cut the margin to a single point at 58-57. The Cobbers then used a made 3-pointer from Talon Hoffer and a crafty move in the paint by Braeton Motschenbacher to get a layup to push the lead to six points at 63-57.       

St. Mary's scored the next two points, but then consecutive layups from Jackson Jangula and Motschenbacher upped the lead to eight points with 3:46 to play. CC was then able to put up enough counter baskets to keep St. Mary's from getting to within four points and held on for the 7-point win.

Concordia went 8-for-9 from the free throw line in the first half and 9-for-10 in the second period. The Cobbers made 13 more free throws than St. Mary's attempted. CC's 17 made free throws are the second highest of the season, as was their 89.5% foul line connection rate. Concordia is now 69-for-85 (81.2%) from the free throw line in its last five games. With that stretch, the Cobbers have upped their season free throw percentage to 71.4% which is fifth best in the MIAC.

Motschenbacher led all players with a season-high 22 points in the game. He was 9-for-17 from the floor and 4-for-5 from the line. He has scored at least 17 points in the last three games and is averaging 19.0 ppg during that stretch. He has also upped his season scoring average to 14.4 ppg which is second on the team.

Rowan Nelson put up his 11th straight double-digit scoring total to start the season. He went 7-for-12 from the floor, 2-for-2 from distance and finished with 19 points. He leads the team with a 16.5 ppg average which is sixth highest in the MIAC.

Dylan Inniger gave the Cobbers a trio of players with at least 10 points. Inniger finished with 12 points and has now scored at least 10 points in four straight games and six of the past seven.

Hoffer grabbed a game-high nine boards which brings his team-leading total to 5.5 rpg.              
  
UP NEXT: Concordia has a rare week break during January. The Cobbers won't return to action until Sunday, Jan. 23 when they host Carleton at 1 p.m. The Knights are 11-3 overall, 8-2 in league play and are unbeaten in 2022.          

CONCORDIA vs. ST. MARY'S HIGHLIGHTS