Drive For The Playoffs Reaches High Gear

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/11/23)---Concordia's drive for the MIAC playoffs is now officially in high gear.

The Cobbers outscored St. Scholastica in each half, led for all but 1:22 and rolled to an 81-67 win at home.

The victory is the fourth straight for Concordia who is now 8-10 in league play. The Cobbers are currently in eighth place in the MIAC standings, only one game back of the sixth, and final, playoff spot with two games remaining in the regular season.

CC is now 10-13 overall. It marks the first time since the 2017 season that the Cobbers have posted a double-digit win total for the year.

Concordia used a 15-4 run in the first 7-minutes of the opening half to take a double-digit lead over the Saints. CC would keep the margin between 9-11 points throughout the opening frame until Scholastica scored six of the final nine points of the half to get to within six at the break at 41-35.

The Cobbers put the game on ice in the first 3-minutes of the final half. CC scored the first seven points of the period to extend the lead to 13 points, and was never threatened after that. Concordia pushed the lead to as many as 23 points, before finishing the game with the 14-point victory.

Junior transfer Matthew Johnson continued to have the hot hand for Concordia. He went 6-for-9 from beyond the arc, 7-for-14 from the floor and finished with 20 points. It's his third straight game with at least 20 points, and he is now averaging 18.1 ppg which is seventh best in the MIAC this year.

Johnson has now drained 54 three-pointers on the year which is No.4 on the conference list.

Johnson also tied his season high with seven assists. He rounded out the stat sheet with six boards.

Rowan Nelson and Jacob Cook joined Johnson with double-digit point totals for the game. Nelson was 5-for-7 from the floor, 2-for-3 from distance and had 15 points. He also tied Johnson's team-high rebound total with six. Nelson has now scored in double figures in 22 straight games.

Cook continues to give Concordia a threat down low. The first-year player was 5-for-6 from the field and had 13 points. Cook is averaging 12.8 points and 5.5 rebounds in the team's last five games.     

Sophomore Dylan Inniger didn't miss a shot all game. He was 4-for-4 from the floor, 1-for-1 from 3-point range, 2-for-2 from the free throw line and finished with nine points.

As a team, Concordia posted a season-high shooting percentage, and its second highest 3-point percentage of the year. The Cobbers shot 55.4% (31-for-56) from the field and 48.0% (12-for-25) from distance.        
 
UP NEXT: The Cobbers will face their toughest challenge on the road to the playoffs on Wednesday, Feb. 15 when they host Carleton at 5:15 p.m. The Knights just clinched the MIAC regular-season championship with their win over Macalester on Saturday.  

CONCORDIA vs. ST. SCHOLASTICA HIGHLIGHTS