Road Warriors Claim Another Win In The Ring

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (2/10/24)---In the 1990s, WWE had Hawk and Animal as The Road Warriors. In 2024, the MIAC has the Concordia Cobbers as The Road Warriors.

For the fourth time in the last five away games, the Cobbers went on the road and wrestled their way to a win. Concordia used a season-high rebound total and a dominant inside game to pin the Auggies 75-67 and gain the sweep in the season series.

The win is the 10th of the year on the road for Concordia, who are now 10-4 on the road and 4-5 at home. CC is one of only two teams in the MIAC who have a double-digit road win total.        

The victory also pushes the Cobbers into the middle of the postseason picture. CC is 10-8 in conference play and once again in sole possession of fifth place in the race for six playoff spots. Concordia needs only one more win in its last two regular-season games to clinch its first MIAC playoff berth since 2016.

The Cobbers are also 14-9 in all games in 2023-24. The 10 league victories and 14 overall wins are the most since the 2016 season.

Concordia led Augsburg for 35:41 of the 40 minutes in their game on Saturday and never trailed after the 18:02 mark of the first half. The Cobbers led by as many as 13 points in the first half and took a 39-30 lead into the halftime break.

The Cobbers led for the entire second half and survived a late push from the Auggies, who cut the lead to two points with 3:32 left in the final period. Rowan Nelson connected on a pair of free throws and then Matt Johnson put the game to the mat when drained a clutch 3-pointer to give CC a 6-point lead at 72-66 with 1:43 remaining.

The shooting numbers for both teams were very similar, but the big advantage in the game came around the basket. Concordia outrebounded Augsburg 51-37. The 51 rebounds are the most since they hauled down 51 against St. Mary's on Feb. 3, 2013.

The Cobbers also enjoyed a 42-24 edge in points in the paint. CC has outscored the Auggies 80-42 in points in the paint in the two games this season.

Not surprisingly, the Cobber big men led the way on the stat sheet. The trio of Jacob Cook, Jackson Loge and Noah Christensen combined to score 37 points and haul down 32 rebounds.

Cook put up his fifth double-double of the year. He scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Loge was 6-for-11 from the floor and had 15 points and eight rebounds. Christensen came away with a career-high rebound total. He muscled his way to 12 boards and added four points.

Johnson took care of the outside game for CC. He went 4-for-10 from distance and finished with 17 points.

UP NEXT: Concordia will look for the one win to clinch a playoff spot when they host St. Olaf on Wednesday, Feb. 14 and St. Scholastica on Saturday, Feb. 17.