Playoff Hopes Fade On The Road

STORY LINE: Concordia went scoreless in the final 2:56 of the second half and lost 58-53 at Carleton. The Cobbers took a 53-52 lead on a jumper by Tommy Schyma with just under 3-minutes left to play in regulation and then went 0-4 from the floor, were outscored 6-0 and lost by five.

RECORDS: The loss ends the Cobbers' playoff hopes. Concordia is now 6-13 in the MIAC and a full 2  games behind sixth place for the final playoff spot with one game left in the regular season. CC is now 7-17 in all games. Carleton stops their 7-game losing streak, which started at Concordia on Jan. 21, and is now 5-14 in league play and 7-17 overall.

ROAD WOES: Concordia finishes the season with a 1-12 record in away games. The Cobbers' were 1-9 in road games in the MIAC with their only away win coming at playoff bound St. Olaf on Jan. 5.        

SECOND HALF PLAYBACK: Concordia took a 29-26 lead into the break and never trailed in the second half until the 6:42 mark. CC led by as many as nine points during that stretch before the Knights went on a 16-5 run that turned a 41-32 Cobber lead into a 48-46 Carleton lead with 6:42 left to play. CC regained the lead at 51-50 on a David Birkeland jumper with 4:32 remaining in the second half. The Knights countered with their own 2-point field goal before Tommy Schyma put CC in the lead for the last time with 2:56 left.

SECOND HALF DIFFERENCE MAKERS: Concordia went 0-for-7 from outside the arc and was outrebounded 21-8 in the second half of play. The Cobbers didn't have an offensive rebound in the final 20 minutes while Carleton grabbed six offensive boards. Both teams made 11 field goals in the second half.

STAT STUFF: The rebound advantage carried over to the final stats as the Knights held a 43-22 advantage in total rebounds and a 15-2 edge in offensive rebounds. Carleton was able to turn those offensive boards into a 18-0 margin in second-chance points. Concordia shot 43.6% (24-for-55) from the floor as compared to 40.0% (22-for-55) for Carleton. Both teams made three long-range shots in the game. The Cobbers were 2-for-3 from the free throw line while Carleton went 11-for-18.

3'S BY BRYDEN: Sophomore point guard Bryden Urie made the only 3-point shots in the game for Concordia. He went 3-for-6 from outside the arc and finished with a team-high 17 points. He also had three steals and two blocks.

BEST OF THE REST: Concordia had a pair of other players finish in double figures in scoring. Jordan Davis was 6-for-11 from the floor and finished with 12 points and Tommy Schyma added 11 points. Freshman David Birkeland came off the bench to collect a team-high six rebounds.

UP NEXT: Concordia will finish off the 2019 season when they host Gustavus on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. The Gusties are 10-14 overall and 7-12 in the MIAC. They are 1 game out of sixth place and need a win coupled with a Hamline loss to make the 6-team conference tournament.