Full Nelson Taps Out St. Mary's

WINONA, Minn. (12/04/23)---Junior Rowan Nelson scored the opening points for the Cobbers in the first half, posted the first five points for Concordia in the second half, and his season-high 21 points led the team to a double-digit win at St. Mary's.

Nelson's Monday scoring spree paved the way for Concordia's seventh straight win to start the 2023-24 season. That total is one shy of the program's all-time best start, which came in 1983 when that CC team went 8-0 and won the MIAC regular-season title.

The victory also adds a cherry on top of the longest road-trip cake of the year. The Cobbers went 6-0 on their 6-game away stretch that lasted 24 days.

The Cobbers led for all but 8:16 in earning their sixth straight road victory of the year. Concordia and St. Mary's traded scores for the first half of the opening period of play before a Nelson layup gave CC a 16-14 lead with 7:18 left in the half – a lead they would never relinquish for the remainder of the contest.

One of the key stretches of the game came immediately following halftime. The Cardinals hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the half to take the momentum into the break. Nelson and the Cobbers squelched any comeback noise by bolting to a 12-2 run to start the second half to extend the lead to 22 points. Nelson scored the first five points of that stretch.

Concordia posted consistent shooting numbers throughout the game. They finished by knocking down 44.8% (26-for-58) of their shots from the floor and 40.7% (11-for-27) of their attempts from 3-point range. It marks the third time this season that the Cobbers have shot at least 40.0% from both the floor and from outside the arc.

CC was also 8-for-13 (61.5%) from the foul line.           

St. Mary's (1-7, 0-4 MIAC) shot 36.5% (23-for-63) from the field and 33.3% (9-for-27) from distance.

The Cardinals only attempted two free throws in the game, which is the fewest by an opposing team this season for CC and the least in a single game since before the 2001 season when extensive game-by-game statistics were kept.  

Concordia had nine players score at least two points in the game. Nelson led all scorers with his season-high point total. He went 8-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-6 from distance. Nelson also chipped in five boards and three assists.

Senior guard Matt Johnson posted his seventh straight double-digit scoring total of the year and 17th overall in a streak that dates back to the end of last season.

Johnson was 3-for-6 from 3-point range and had 13 points. He was also one of three CC players with a game-high seven rebounds.

Jackson Loge and Jacob Cook were the other 7-rebound Cobbers. Both Loge and Cook also had eight points.

Peyton Belka earned Anderson Automotive Spark Plug Player of the Game honors. He scored a season-high eight points and was 2-for-3 from outside the arc. He also had three helpers and two boards.           

UP NEXT: Concordia will face its toughest test of the year when it returns home for the first time in almost a month. The Cobbers will square off against St. John's on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 7:45 p.m. The Johnnies are 4-0 in league play, 5-2 overall and have won five straight.