Tough Turnover Totals

ST. PAUL, Minn. (11/29/17)--- For the second straight night a Concordia basketball team had a better shooting percentage from the field and 3-point range but was done in by turnovers and lost.

On Tuesday the Cobber women's team outshot Jamestown from the floor and behind the arc but couldn't overcome 25 turnovers and lost by 11. On Wednesday the men's team held better marks from the field and 3-point range but committed nine more turnovers, was outscored 27-8 on points off of those miscues and lost 80-71 at St. Thomas.

Concordia shot above 50.0% from both the floor and outside the arc but fell for the second straight conference game. The Cobbers are now 2-3 in all games and 0-2 in the MIAC. The game was the league opener for the Tommies who are now 3-1 overall.

The Cobbers shot 53.2% (25-for-47), which included a 60.9% (14-for-23) mark in the second half, from the floor and connected on 50.0% (6-for-12) of their shots from long range.

St. Thomas made 47.4% (27-for-57) of their shots from the field and had a 46.7% (7-for-15) mark from 3-point range.

The Tommies held a one rebound (32-31) edge on the boards, and the teams were even (36-36) in points in the pain while UST made four more free throws. St. Thomas only committed six turnovers in the game as compared to 15 for the CC offense and that turned into 19-point advantage in points off of turnovers which proved costly for the Cobbers.

Concordia held the lead for the first 17;53 of the game but then a 7-2 run by St. Thomas at the end of the first half, which included a buzeer-beating 3-pointer from the top of the arc, gave the Tommies a 37-32 lead at the break. 

The Cobbers held a brief lead in the second half after a 14-7 streak to start the period but then the Tommies went on a 13-0 run that turned the game in their favor. 

Senior center Austin Heins led Concordia in points and rebounds. He went 7-for-10 from the field and finished with a career-high 21 points and grabbed eight boards. He scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half.

Heins was one of four Concordia players to finish with more than nine points in the game. Jordan Davis missed one shot all game and had 14 points to go along with six rebounds.

Collin Larson went 3-for-5 from outside the arc and collected 12 points and two assists. Point guard Tommy Schyma dished out a game-high five assists and also put up 10 points.

GETTING CLOSER: Schoenecker Arena hasn't been very kind to the Cobbers in recent history but Wednesday's game broke a couple of streaks at St. Thomas. Concordia had allowed the Tommies to score in the 90's the past two games at UST. The nine-point loss was the smallest since 2012 when Concordia dropped a 62-54 decision in St. Paul.    

10-POINT PRODUCTION/WELL BALANCED: Concordia had four players score in double figures against the Tommies and has now had at least three players score at least 10 points in four of their five games this year. They have had four players score in double digits in two games.

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will look to get in the win column in conference play when they travel back to St. Paul when they take on Macalester on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 1 p.m. The Scots are 1-3 on the year and are coming off a 59-44 loss at home against St. Olaf in their MIAC opener on Wednesday.