Statistical Mirage Forms At Bethel

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. (12/09/13)—If a person just looked at the stat sheet they would think Concordia would have won going away against Bethel in Arden Hills on Monday. Unfortunately the Cobbers were forced to chase the game for most of the 40 minutes of play and when Jordan Bolger's potential game-tying grab-and-shoot shot with .6-seconds left rattled off rim, CC was handed a heartbreaking 70-68 loss against the league-leading Royals.  
The Cobbers erased a 13-point deficit in the second half in a span of 4:35, built a four-point lead in the final seven minutes before the Royals went on a 13-7 run to finish off the game. The biggest stretch for BU came in a span of 5:27 when they turned a four-point CC advantage into a six-point lead.

The loss keeps the Cobbers winless in league play this season. Concordia is now 0-3 against conference opponents and falls under .500 in all games for the first time this year at 3-4. Bethel wins for the sixth straight game and is still unbeaten in the MIAC. The Royals are now 6-1 overall and 3-0 in league play.

The stat sheet proved to be a huge mirage in the game. Concordia took more field goals, made more field goals and had a better shooting percentage than the Royals. The Cobbers also held the edge in 3-point shooting and rebounding. The only areas where CC came up short were in free throw shooting and turnovers.

The Cobbers shot 51.9% (28-for-54) from the floor as compared to 46.2% (24-for-52) for Bethel. CC was 7-for-13 (53.8%) from outside the arc while the Royals made only 32.0% (8-for-25) of their long-range attempts. Concordia outrebounded BU by a decisive 36-24 margin which led to a 12-2 edge in second-chance points. In addition, the Cobbers had a 34-24 advantage in points in the point – the area where they usually trail. Finally, Concordia had five players score in double figures which gave CC a 25-16 edge in points from the bench. All those wins for the Cobbers were negated by 14-5 edge in made free throws and a 10-turnover difference which ultimately led to the two-point win.

Brady Syverson, Brett Bergeson, Bolger, Tom Fraase and Corey Abbas all had at least 10 points for Concordia. Syverson scored 13 of his team-high 15 points in the second half. He was 7-for-10 from the floor. Bergeson went 3-for-4 from outside the arc to put up 12 points and finish with his second straight double-digit scoring effort. Bolger continues to be a force around the basket. He came away with 11 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds to record his second double-double of the season. Fraase posted his third straight 10-plus point game and had 11 points against Bethel while Abbas earned his very first collegiate double-digit scoring night and finished with 10 points.

Concordia will look to put an end to their conference losing skid when they host Augsburg on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 7:45 p.m.