OT Win Finishes Off Eight-Day Sprint

ST. PAUL, Minn. (1/16/16) --- Concordia broke its overtime streak by outscoring Macalester 14-9 in the extra five minutes of play and pulled out a 79-74 win in St. Paul.

The Cobbers came into the contest 0-2 in overtime games this season and hadn't won an overtime contest since 2013. 

The overtime win also capped a stretch where the Cobbers played four games in eight days. CC won all four of those games and is now 9-6 overall and 6-4 in MIAC play. With the four straight conference victories the Cobbers jump into a tie for fourth place in wins in the league standings. The Scots fall to 3-11 and 1-8 in conference play.   

Concordia shot 52.5% (31-of-59) from the field, but just 15.4% (2-of-13) from beyond the arc, their lowest percentage and 3-point basket totals of the season. Macalester hit nine of 17 attempts from distance and shot 45.3% (29-of-64) from the floor. 

The Cobbers dominated the Scots around the basket. Though they only outrebounded MAC 36-34, CC outscored Macalester 42-24 in the paint. 

Macalester came out with a hot shooting touch. Wyatt Ferm and Michale Gutierrez cashed in on 3-pointers that helped build the Scots lead to 26-18 with just over 8-minutes to play in the half. 

While Macalester utilized the deep ball in the first half as they went 5-for-9 from long distance. Concordia struggled with their outside shooting game – going 0-for-5 in the opening half – but was able to score on a consistent basis from up close. The Cobbers outscored the Scots 26-12 in the paint with a trio of seniors leading the way. 

Jordan Bolger paced Concordia with 11 points in the opening half of play, while Isaac Anderson and Brady Syverson chipped in with nine and eight points respectively. 

Trailing 26-18, Bolger scored nine of the Cobbers' next 11 points to bring CC within four points at 33-29 with 4:44 remaining in the half. 

Anderson converted an old-fashioned 3-point play and Dylan Alderman finished in the lane on back-to-back possessions - including one as time expired - to cut the Macalester lead to 37-34 at half. 

The opening minutes of the second half went back and forth. Trailing 48-42 with 16:36 to play, Bolger started a 14-3 Cobber run with a pair of inside hoops that pushed Concordia into the lead for the first time since 16:27 of the first half. 

Macalester countered and grabbed a 59-57 lead following a pair of free throws from Kareem Ismail.

The Cobbers had an answer on the other end as Bolger scored four points and then Alderman and Fraase connected on jump shots that pushed CC ahead 65-59 with 3:05 left. 

The Scots got a look to tie and took advantage. Ferm buried a wing triple to tie the game 65-65 with 40 seconds left. 

It seemed as if Concordia would hold for the last shot, but Alderman punched a gap and got fouled on his drive to the basket. He hit both free throws to give CC a 67-65 lead with 6.9 seconds left on the clock. 

Macalester took the ball the full the full length of the court and Gunnar Goeden put up a jumper as the buzzer sounded. It was a tough decision as to whether the ball was rleased before the horn sounded but the officials counted the basket to send the game to overtime. 

The Cobbers seized control of the extra period from the onset and led 72-68 with 2:56 to play. 

Ferm then buried another triple to bring the Scots within two points, but Fraase hit a jumper and then Austin Nelson found himself open underneath for a layup and made it a 77-74 advantage in favor of Concordia.  Alderman then connected a pair of free throws to put the game on ice. 

Bolger paced the Cobbers with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Alderman went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line while tallying 16 points, seven boards and five assists. 

Anderson chipped in 14 points and Brady Syverson added 10 points and seven rebounds.

'79 WAS A GOOD YEAR TOO!
Concordia had their streak of 80-point games come to an end. The Cobbers entered Saturday having scored in the 80's in all five of their games in 2016 but came up a single point shy against the Scots. Concordia is now tied for second in the MIAC in scoring in overall games. CC is averaging 78.6 points per game in its first 15 games of the year.     

NO MORE MILESTONE GAMES
Senior Jordan Bolger recorded his third straight 20-or-more point game. Bolgers has now scored at least 20 points in seven of the past eight games in a streak that dates back to Dec. 5. The only game he didn't score 20 points was against St. John's when he scored his 1,000th career point.   

Bolfer continues to lead the MIAC in scoring. He is now averaging 19.1 points per game. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Concordia will have a much-needed week off after their four-games-in-eight-days stretch. They will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 23, when they host Bethel at 1 p.m. The Royals beat CC in Arden Hills earlier in the season and are coming off a 101-66 home win over Hamline.