A "Big Giese" New Year's Eve Celebration

ST. BONAFACIUS, Minn. (12/31.13)—Concordia will be hoping that the start of New Year will be just like the finish of old year. The Cobber finished off 2013 by outscoring Crown 48-31 in the second half and came from behind to post an 88-72 victory.

Concordia (5-5) trailed by as many as 11 points late in the first half but then rallied to get within one at the break and then swarmed all over the Storm in the second half. The victory is the Cobbers' second in the past three games and evens their overall record at 5-5. The game was also CC's last non-conference tilt of the year. Concordia winds up 4-1 against non MIAC opponents this season. Crown drops their second straight game against an MIAC foe and is now 3-8 on the year.

Cobber junior guard Brandon Giese was the offensive juggernaut all game long. He had 17 points in the first half to keep Concordia close and then added eight in the second frame to finish with a career-high 25 points. It is the second straight game he has scored at least 20 points and has now posted double-digit scoring totals in seven of his last eight games.

Giese, and the rest of the Cobbers, had their shooting sites aligned all game long. Giese was 10-for-17 (58.8%) from the floor against Crown and helped Concordia soot a season best 55.4% (36-for-65) from the field. Giese was 3-for-9 from outside the arc while CC canned 30.0% (6-for-20) of their long-range attempts.

Jordan Bolger added 22 points, 15 of which came in the second half, to give Concordia a pair of 20-point scorers for the first time all season. Bolger was 10-for-15 from the field and also recorded a team-high seven rebounds.

Tom Fraase and Aaron Zimmer were the other two Concordia players in double figures in scoring for the game. Fraase went 6-for-11 from the field and had a career-high 15 points while Zimmer came off the bench to go 6-for-6 from the free throw line and score a career-high 10 points. It is the first time in his career that he has more than two points in a game.

The Cobbers outrebounded the Storm 35-22 in the game and held a decisive 50-28 advantage in points in the paint. CC also grabbed 15 offensive rebounds which is the seventh time in the last nine games that the team has collected at least 10 offensive rebounds.

Concordia will head back to MIAC play when they host St. Mary's on Saturday, Jan. 4 at MSU Moorhead at 3 p.m.