Deadlocked Opener Determined By 7-0 Run In Second Half

MORRIS, Minn. (11/05/21)---Concordia and Minn.-Morris were virtually deadlocked in their season opener on Friday at Morris. The game featured 11 tie scores in the first 30 minutes of play, but then a 7-0 run in middle of the second half helped the Cougars post a 73-70 win.

Concordia led for most of the first half, but needed a 4-0 run in the final minute of the opening period of the season to send the teams into the break tied at 41-41. Talon Hoffer hit a 3-pointer with 46-seconds to play in the half to get CC within one at 41-40 and then freshman Gavin Keller knocked down a free throw to tie the game at the half.

The first 10-minutes of the second half had six tie scores with neither team leading by more than four points. Morris made the game-winning run with the scored tied at 55-55. They would score seven straight points on a pair of layups and then a made 3-pointer.   

The Cobbers were forced to chase the game for the final 7:41 and got to within three points with 2:21 on a Charlie Rasmussen layup. The Cougars responded with a huge 3-point field goal to push the lead back to six points with just under 2-minutes to play.

Concordia finished the opener by shooting 36.9% (24-for-65) from the field and 22.7% (5-for-22) from outside the arc. Morris made 43.8% of their field goal attempts and shot 35.3% (6-for-17) from 3-point range.

The Cobbers had a 50-41 advantage on the boards, while UMM posted a 44-34 edge in points in the pain. Both teams racked up the turnovers in the first game of the year. Concordia committed 22 miscues and Morris had 20 turnovers.

Junior Braeton Motschenbacher came through with a team-high 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Talon Hoffer recorded a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Freshman Rowan Nelson went 5-for-9 from the floor and 7-for-10 from the free throw line and had 18 points in his first college game.     
  
UP NEXT: The Cobbers will travel to Fargo to take on Division I NDSU in an exhibition on Nov. 9 before returning home to host their home opener on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 3 p.m. against Martin Luther.