Done In By A Career Shooting Game

MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/30/17)--- A 33-point, 12-for-13 shooting performance doomed Concordia to their second straight defeat as the Cobbers fell 92-74 to St. John's.

St. John's guard David Stokman went 6-for-6 from 3-point range and 9-for-9 from the floor in the first half and helped the Johnnies shoot 72.7% (8-for-11) from outside the arc in the first 20 minutes of play to jump out to a 27-point lead which put the game out of reach.

The Cobbers outscored St. John's 50-43 in the second half but the first-half shooting of Stokman and the Johnnies proved to be the difference in the game.

The loss drops CC out of fourth place in the standings and moves their MIAC record to 7-7. Concordia is now in sole possession of the sixth, and final, spot for the conference playoffs. The Cobbers are 10-9 overall. SJU snaps its two-game losing streak and is now 9-4 in league play and 13-5 in all games.

The career shooting half by Stokman overshadowed the offensive explosion in the second half for Concordia. The Cobbers shot 46.4% (13-for-28) from the floor in the final 20 minutes of play and scored 50 points.

CC cut the lead down to 15 points with a little over 5-minutes to play after junior Kevin Wolfe made one of two free throws. Unfortunately for the Cobbers would once again step to the forefront as he knocked down his seventh, and final, 3-pointer of the game which finished off a 5-0 run and pushed the St. John's lead back to 20 points.

Stokman missed his only shot of the night late in the game and finished with 33 points after going 12-for-13 from the floor and 7-for-8 from outside the arc. Stokman's spark contributed to the Johnnies shooting 59.2% (34-for-57) from the field and 62.5% (10-for-16) from 3-point range. The 62.5% shooting from long range is a season high for SJU.

Concordia finished the game with a 41.2% (21-for-51) shooting percentage from the floor and a 25.9% (7-for-27) mark from outside the arc.

The Cobbers outrebounded St. John's 32-28 ad the CC bench outscored their SJU counterparts 43-26. Besides their season-best outside shooting performance the Johnnies were also able to get to the basket and outscored Concordia 34-20 in points in the paint.

SECOND-HALF SCORING SUCCESS: The 50 points scored by Concordia in the second half are the most n a single half this season. The previous half high was 47 scored in the first half of the second game of the year against Crown.
  
RUND FUND: Cobber junior Austin Rund had his career best game on Monday. Rund didn't take a shot in the first half but then his outside shooting prowess made him a valuable asset in the second half and he finished with a team-high 16 points. Rund went 4-for-7 from outside the arc and 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the second half and posted his career high point total. Rund also led the team in rebounds with seven which was also a career high.  Rund entered the game having scored a combined 26 points and nine rebounds in his previous eight games in 2017.

FOUR MORE: Concordia had four players score in double figures on Monday. Besides Rund's career high, Zach Kinny added 14 points, Kevin Wolfe finished with 11 points and Christopher Duke had 10. The 10 points scored by Duke tied a career high.    

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will look to get back on the winning track when they host Augsburg on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 5:45 p.m. The Auggies are a half game behind the Cobbers in the league standings at 6-7. Augsburg is coming off a 78-55 loss at home against Gustavus on Monday.