Positive Story Lines Rain Down On Senior Celebration Day

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/17/24)---The old cliché goes, "when It rains, it pours." That was the case for positive storylines in the Cobbers regular-season finale with St. Scholastica.

Do you lead with the annual Senior Day Celebration in honor of the four seniors who have seen the program go from the bottom of the MIAC to the conference playoffs? Or maybe you would like the individual milestone story of Rowan Nelson, who became only the 15th player in program history to score 1,000 points in a career? Or maybe you like the team aspect and prefer to highlight the 75-67 win that is Concordia's third straight and fourth in the last five games?

Whichever angle you choose, it was nothing but good news on the final day of the regular season. The Cobbers never trailed against the Saints as they pulled away to post an 8-point win.

We're going to go with the Senior Day Celebration as our lead. The three senior players left the court after the game with the 16th overall win of the season and 12th MIAC victory. That is in sharp contrast to Jackson Jangula's first year in 2020, when the team finished at 3-22 in all games and 1-19 in league play.

The 16 overall wins are the most by a Cobber team since the 2016 season as are the 12 conference victories.

Concordia will now enter the conference postseason as the No.5 seed – the highest finish in the league standings for CC since? You guessed it, 2016.

The game on Saturday wasn't put to rest until the final 2 minutes of play. Concordia held a 40-28 lead at the halftime break but then St. Scholastica cut the margin to four points at 57-53 when they went on a 6-0 run.

Three straight points from senior Matt Johnson and two successful free throws from Nelson pushed the lead back to nine points. CSS would make one final push when they scored five straight points to get to within four at 71-67 with 2:00 left in regulation. Johnson cashed in on two free throws, the Cobber defense tightened and CC pulled away to win by eight.

Nelson's big moment came in the first half. He entered the game needing only four points to join the Cobber 1,000-point club. He stepped into the rare club at the 7:18 mark of the first half when he drove down the lane and converted the layup.

Nelson finished with a game-highs in points and rebounds. He finished his milestone game with 16 points and eight boards.

Johnson was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line and came away with 15 points. He needs three points to reach the 1,000-point for his career between the Univ. of Mary and Concordia.                

Jackson Loge continued his recent stretch of good form. He was 6-for-7 from the floor and had 13 points to go with eight rebounds.

UP NEXT: The Cobbers will enter the postseason for the first time since 2016 when they travel to St. Paul to take on Hamline on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the MIAC tournament.