A Tough 9:10

MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/06/20)---Concordia played even basketball with Bethel for the final 26-minutes of play but it was a stretch of 9:10 midway through the first half that led to the Cobbers dropping a 72-53 decision to the Royals.

The Cobbers led Bethel 12-7 with 15-minutes to play in the opening period of play but then the Royals went on a 29-5 run that lasted until the 6-minute mark and gave BU a 19-point lead at 36-17. The 19-point margin would be the same as the final score as the teams were deadlocked at 36-36 for the final 26 minutes of the contest.   

The loss drops Concordia's record to 2-9 in all games and 0-7 in conference play. Bethel improves to 8-3 in all games and 5-1 in the MIAC. They have now won five of their past six games since the start of December.

The Cobbers took a 4-0 lead to start the game on back-to-back jumpers from junior Jacob Fredrickson. Concordia then extended the lead to five points at 12-7 when sophomore guard Ian Schafer knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the 15:12 mark. Schafer and John Reiten would make the only CC field goals in the next 9:10 and then Bethel would bolt to a 19-point lead at 36-17 with 5:56 to play in the period.

Concordia would then hold the Royals scoreless for the rest of the half and cut the lead to 10 points at 36-26 at the break.

The Cobbers were never able to get the deficit to single digits in the second half despite getting to within 10 points on several occasions. Each time the Cobbers threatened to make a run, Bethel was able to connect on key baskets and keep the lead in double digits.

Concordia finished the game by shooting 39.1% (18-for-46) from the floor and 36.4% (4-for-11) from 3-point range. Bethel made 54.9% (28-for-51) of their shots from the field and 40.7% (11-for-27) of their attempts from outside the arc.

Bethel held a 33-20 edge in rebounding and a 20-14 margin in points in the paint. The Cobbers only had 10 turnovers in the game which was one fewer that the Royals.

Fredrickson had a team-high 15 points for Concordia.  The 15 points is also a career high for Fredrickson who was 5-for-8 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free throw line.

Junior guard Bryden Urie scored nine points and tied for the team lead in rebounds with five. Adam Daggett also had five rebounds and added six points. Schafer finished with eight total points – six of which came in the first half of play.

INSIDE STAT INFO: Concordia finished the game by attempting as many 3-pointers as Bethel made. The Royals made seven more long-range shots in the game (21 pts.). That marks the second straight game where Cobber opponents have a decided edge from outside the arc. On Saturday St. Thomas made 14 3-pointers which was one less than the Cobbers attempted. In the past two games CC foes have made 17 more 3-pointers.     

UP NEXT: Concordia will finish of its stretch of three games in five days when they play at Macalester on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 5:15 p.m. The Scots are 4-7 overall and 1-5 in the MIAC will be coming off a bye on Monday night.