Second Straight, Last-Second Game Winner Is Off The Mark In Duluth

DULUTH, Minn. (2/14/22)---For the second straight game, Concordia had a chance to win the game with a 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation. Unlike Saturday when the Cobbers connected on the game winner, the shot from distance on Monday was off the mark and Concordia fell 69-67 at St. Scholastica.

Concordia (5-14, 4-12 MIAC) led for almost the entire first half. They scored 11 of the first 16 points in the game and pushed the lead to as many as nine points when Rowan Nelson got free underneath and put home a layup with 7:36 left in the opening period of play.

One of the key points of the game came in the final 3-minutes of the first half. St. Scholastica went on a 10-0 run to turn an 8-point deficit into a 2-point lead at 30-28.

Freshman Dylan Inniger would send the game into the halftime break tied at 30-30 when he made a layup in the final seconds of the half.

The teams traded point streaks to start the second half where there were five lead changes and two tie scores.

The second swing of momentum for the Saints came with just under 5-minutes to play when Nelson drained a pair of free throws to cut the lead to one point at 58-57.

St. Scholastica (5-19, 3-16 MIAC) was able to score the next five points in the game to take a 6-point lead heading into the final minutes of play. CC trimmed the lead to three points on a pair of occasions, and trailed by only two after Talon Hoffer connected on a 3-pointer with 5-seconds to play.

Concordia fouled immediately on the ensuing inbounds play and the Saints proceeded to miss the front end of the 1-and-1.

Head Coach Tyler Borman called a timeout to set up a play. The ball eventually found Jackson Jangula, who drained the game winner on Saturday, but this time his shot from 30 feet was just off the mark.

Concordia shot 45.3% (24-for-53) from the floor, 40.0% (10-for-25) from distance and 64.3% (9-for-14) from the foul line for the game. On the other end, the Saints shot 54.0% (27-for-50) from the field, 37.0% (10-for-27) from outside the arc and 55.6% (5-for-9) from the free throw stripe.

The 54.0% shooting clip from the floor for St. Scholastica is a season-high mark.

Nelson led all players with 20 points. It was his fifth game this season with at least 20 points. He was also one of three CC players to haul in a team-high five boards.

Inniger and David Birkeland were the other two Concordia players that finished in double figures in scoring.  Inniger had 15 points and Birkeland went 4-for-7 from the floor and added 11.  It's the second time in the last four games that Birkeland has put up at least 10 points.          

UP NEXT: Concordia get ready for the MIAC playoffs by hosting Augsburg in the regular-season finale on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 7:15 p.m. The Cobbers will then have a road game in the first round of the conference playoffs. CC will play at either Bethel or Macalester on Saturday, Feb. 19 at a time to be determined in the 7/10 game.