Final 5 Minutes Costs Playoff Contest

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/24/16)—Concordia was outscored 11-2 in a stretch of 3:16 at the end of the second half and lost 67-62 to Bethel in the quarterfinals of the MIAC tournament.

It is the second straight season that the Cobbers have lost to the Royals in the quarterfinals of the league playoffs.    

Dylan Alderman connected on one of two free throws with 4:56 remaining in the second period to tie the game at 52-52 and that would start the 11-2 streak for the Royals. During that stretch Concordia went 1-3 with a pair of turnovers while Bethel went 4-for-5 from floor, 2-for-2 from the free throw line and converted both CC miscues into points.

Concordia has their season end with a 16-10 overall record. Bethel improves to 18-8 and advances to play No.1 seed St. Thomas in the conference semifinals.

The Cobbers found success with their guards all game long. Both Tom Fraase and Alderman were able to get to the basket for layups or to draw defenders inside the paint. Fraase finished with a team-high 14 points while Alderman added 12.

The other scoring threat for Concordia all game long was the inside play of senior Isaac Anderson. Anderson went 6-for-7 from the floor and finished with 14 points. He had a two-step dunk in the first half that tied the game at 6-6 and brought the crowd of over 500 to its feet.

Concordia was forced to chase the game for almost the entire 40 minutes of play. The Cobbers had the lead three times  after the first two minutes of play and each time the Royals responded by making the next basket and then going on an extended scoring streak.

The Cobbers took a 19-18 lead on the conversion of an "and 1" for Fraase with 8:01 left to play in the first half. The Royals then then made the next four points, 10 of the next 13 points and took a 36-30 lead the halftime break.

Concordia's final two leads of the game came at the 11:48 mark of the second half. Inspirational leader Brady Syverson connected on a baseline jumper to stake CC to a 42-41 lead. Syverson tore his ACL in the team's game against St. Mary's on Feb. 8 and wasn't supposed to play again. He only logged eight minutes in the quarterfinal game but his presence was a huge lift for the Cobbers.

Bethel made a layup on the next possession to retake a one-point lead at 43-42 but then Anderson hit a baby hook shot to push Concordia back out from at 44-43. That would be the last lead of the game for CC.

Bethel made the next four points, which feature the first of two straight 3-pointers, and grabbed a 48-44 lead.

Concordia slowly chipped away at the lead with seven straight points from Anderson and Alderman's made free throw that tied the game at 52-52 and set up the fateful late-game stretch.

The Cobbers finished the game by shooting 43.8% (21-for-48) from the floor and 38.5% (5-for-13) from outside the arc. CC was also 15-for-21 (71.4%) from the foul line. Bethel shot 41.8% (23-for-55) from the field and 16.7% (2-for-12) from long range. BU went to the foul 30 times and connected on 19 of those attempts (63.3%).

Bethel won the game around the basket as they outrebounded Concordia 38-30 and grabbed 12 offensive rebounds. The 12 offensive boards led to a 13-2 edge in second chance points. The Royals also outscored CC 38-28 in points in the paint.