Lessons Learned In 8-Point Win At Augsburg

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. (12/07/22)---You can put Concordia's 84-76 win over Augsburg in the folder labeled "Lessons Learned". On Saturday, the Cobbers led for the majority of the game but then lost down the stretch. On Wednesday, there would be no come-from-behind opportunities as Concordia shut the door in the second half to close out their second conference victory.

The Cobbers never trailed for the entire second half, and held off a late Auggie comeback attempt after Augsburg scored five straight to tie the game at 75-75 with 2:11 left in regulation. CC reached back for the experience they gained on Saturday, scored the next five points and finished the game on a 9-1 run.

The win is the first for the Cobbers at Augsburg since the 2015-16 season. 

Junior Matthew Johnson nailed a 3-pointer to give CC a 78-75 lead. He followed that with a jumper before Rowan Nelson came up with a huge offensive rebound and put back to give the Cobbers a decisive 6-point lead with 22-seconds left in the period.

Concordia (3-5, 2-3 MIAC) shot 60.0% (18-for-30) in the decisive second half and finished the game by shooting 54.1% (33-for-61) from the field and 42.1% (8-for-19) from outside the arc. It marks the third straight game that the Cobbers have shot better than 40.0% from distance.

Augsburg (2-6, 1-4) shot 52.7% (29-for-55) from the floor, and were hampered by a 25.0% (4-for-16) shooting mark from distance.

The Cobber defense forced the Auggie to commit 16 turnovers, and played that into a 17-12 advantage in points off of miscues.

Nelson and Johnson both had 20-point scoring nights. Nelson came up with his best game of the season as he put up game-high numbers in points and rebounds. He went 11-for-15 from the floor and finished with 24 points. Nelson also grabbed nine boards, including five offensive rebounds.

Johnson scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half alone when he went 5-for-8 from 3-land and was 6-for-10 from the floor. He also grabbed six rebounds in the game.

The Cobbers had two other starters finish with at least 10 points. Point guard Jackson Jangula had 13 points and five assists, while Alex Huber went 5-for-7 from the floor and added 10 points.

UP NEXT: Concordia will finish off the 2022 portion of their conference slate when they host St. Mary's on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 1 p.m.