Game-Long Lead Dwindles Down The Stretch

MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/28/15)—Concordia was outscored 13-5 in the final 5:50 of the second half and lost 63-61 to St. Benedict. The Cobbers led for the entire first half and all but 3:45 as they had their two-game winning streak come to an end.

Concordia built up a 15-point lead midway through the second half but then went 4-for-14 (28.6%) in the final 10 minutes of play and lost on a driving layup with 4-seconds remaining in regulation.

The loss drops Concordia's overall record to 10-8 in all games and 6-5 in league play. The Cobbers are now tied for fifth place in the conference standings with the Blazers. CSB moves to the .500 level for overall games. They are now 9-9 on the season.

The Cobbers scored 11 of the first 13 points in the game to set the tone for the first 30 minutes of play. Concordia kept the lead around the seven-point mark for most of the opening period of play and took a 31-21 lead into the halftime break.

Concordia shot 37.5% (12-for-32) from the floor and 40.0% (4-for-10) from 3-point range in the first half and limited the Blazers to just 1-of-7 shooting from outside the arc.

The tempo of the game changed midway through the second half when St. Benedict started to connect on their shots and score on a consistent basis. The Blazers shot 68.0% (17-for-25) from the floor and 75.0% from outside the arc in the second half. That was compared to 37.9% (11-for-29) from the field and 25.0% (3-for-12) from outside 3-point range for Concordia.

The game was still in the balance in the final 30 seconds of play. After Alley Fisher tied the game at 61-61 with a pair of free throws with 26-seconds remaining, the Blazers then hit the game-winning shot with only four seconds left on the clock. 

Concordia had a chance to tie the game in the dying seconds of regulation but Fisher's potential game-tying shot came up just short at the buzzer.

Fisher finished with a team-high 17 points after going 3-for-7 from behind the arc and 4-for-5 from the free throw line. Junior Olivia Johnson was the only other player to score in double figures for CC. Johnson was 4-for-6 from the field and added 12 points. She also came away with a team-high five rebounds.

The Cobbers did most of their damage on the offensive glass. Concordia collected 13 offensive rebounds and turned those into a 15-1 edge in second chance points. The 13 offensive rebounds marks the third time in the last four games that CC has grabbed at least 10 offensive boards.

Concordia will finish off its four-game home stand when they host Macalester on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 1 p.m.