Done In By Distance

MOORHEAD, Minn. (02/05/22)---Shooting from distance proved to be the key in Concordia's 79-67 loss at home to Hamline. The Cobbers held the advantage over the Pipers in almost every statistical category except 3-point shooting where HU knocked down four more shots from outside the arc to claim the 12-point victory.

Concordia held a 34-31 edge in rebounds, outscored Hamline 30-28 in points in the paint, had a 19-16 edge in points from the bench but couldn't stop the Pipers' outside scoring ability and lost for the fifth straight game.

The Cobbers are now 4-12 overall and 3-10 in the MIAC. Hamline wins for the second straight game and improves to 8-12 in all games and 6-9 in conference contests.

The teams battled back-and-forth through the first 11-minutes of play. The opening stretch of the first half featured 10 lead changes and a pair of tie scores. Concordia had a trio of 3-point leads during that stretch, but each time Hamline had the answer and responded with a basket on the next possession.

The game changed at the 9-minute mark of the opening half. CC led 21-18 on a made 3-pointer from freshman Dylan Inniger, but then the Pipers went on an 8-0 run to seize a 7-point lead. The Cobbers were able to cut the margin to three points at the 2:39 mark, but then three straight layups by HU brought the halftime score to 39-30.

Concordia was able to trim the lead to seven points on two different occasions at the start of the second half, but Hamline had the answer each time and proceeded to put up an 11-2 stretch to seize control of the game with a 16-point lead midway through the final half.

The Cobbers shot 44.4% (28-for-63) from the floor for the game. CC has shot better than 40.0% from the floor in the past six games, but is only 1-5 during that stretch. Concordia went 6-for-27 (22.2%) from distance. The 27 attempts from outside the arc is the most for the Cobbers this year.

Concordia had four players score in double figures. Freshman Rowan Nelson was 8-for-14 from the floor and finished with a team-high 17 points.

Inniger knocked down two of the team's six shots from 3-point range and finished with 14 points.                

Sophomore guard Talon Hoffer collected a team-high six rebounds to go along with 10 points, and Jackson Jangula added 11 points.

UP NEXT: Concordia will have a pair of weeknight home games. The Cobbers will host Bethel on Monday, Feb. 7 and then face Gustavus on Wednesday, Feb. 9. Both games will start at 7:45 p.m. It will mark only the second and third times this season that CC has been at home during the week.