Two Key Stretches Cost Cobbers

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (12/01/12)—Despite a 20-point second half from senior Ebo Nana-Kweson, Concordia was outscored by seven points in the first half and wound up losing 81-76 at Augsburg on Saturday.

The Cobbers tried to rally late in the second half but each run was met by a key Auggie basket or free throw. Augsburg made 10 of their final 11 foul shots in the second half to insure the hard-fought conference win.

The loss is the first in league play for the Cobbers who fall to an even . 500 in both their overall and conference records. CC 3-3 in all games and 1-1 in MIAC games. Augsburg remains perfect on the season and climbs to an overall record of 5-0 and a mark of 2-0 in the league.

The two key points in the game turned out to be the final two minutes at the end of the first half and a three-minute stretch at the midway point of the second half. During that combined stretch of five minutes, CC was outscored 11-1, did not connect on a field goal and missed three free throws. Concordia cut the lead to just three points with 2:00 to play in the opening period but then watched Augsburg score the final four points and trailed 37-30 at the break. Midway through the second half, CC was trading baskets and poised to make a run before a 7-1 streak by the Auggie turned a nine-point lead into a 15-point cushion.

Concordia held an edge, or was almost even, in every statistical category except from 3-point range. The Cobbers shot just 18.8% (3-for-16) from outside the arc as opposed to 42.9% (6-for-14) for Augsburg. The three more made 3-pointers turned out to be the point difference in the game.

Nana-Kweson led all scorers with a career-high 26 points. His previous career high was a 25-point game against Hamline on Jan. 11 of last season. Nana-Kweson was 11-for-20 from the field. Scott Flotterud and Aaron Lindahl were the only other CC players with more than nine points in the game. Flotterud had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Lindahl chipped in 10 points and added a pair of assists.

Dan Kornbaum had 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to pace Augsburg. Brett Rasmussen was 7-for-13 from the floor and 2-for-2 from long range and came away with a team-high 20 points.

Concordia will look to rebound against nationally-ranked St. Thomas on Monday. The Cobbers will square off against the No.8-ranked Tommies at 7:45 p.m. in St. Paul.