The Lights Are Out In Nebraska
Concordia shot lights out from 3-point range, went on a 24-8 run to start the second half and ran away from Simpson 85-56.
LINCOLN, Neb. (11/28/14)—Concordia head coach Rich Glas might have to foot the bill to have the lighting replaced in the Snyder Arena on the campus of Nebraska Wesleyan as the Cobbers shot the lights out in the first game of the Snyder Classic on Friday.
Concordia connected on a blistering 64.3% (9-for-14) of their shots from 3-point range and ran away from Simpson (Iowa) in an 84-56 victory. It is the highest shooting percentage from outside the arc since Feb. 2, 2013 when they hit on 65.0% of their long-range shots against Macalester.
The victory keeps Concordia unbeaten against NCAA Division III opponents this season. The Cobbers are 2-0 vs. DIII foes but 2-1 overall as they lost to Division II MSU Moorhead on Tuesday. Simpson is now 3-3 on the year and has a 66-53 victory over MIAC opponent Augsburg.
The Cobbers won the game in the early stages of the second half. After taking a 39-33 lead into the break, Concordia went on a 24-8 run over the first nine minutes of the second period and took a six-point margin and widened it into a 22-point advantage at 63-41. During those first nine minutes of play in the final half, CC went 9-for-12 (75.0%) from the floor and 4-for-5 (80.0%) from outside the arc.
Concordia would never allow the Storm to get within 20 points after that point and pushed the margin to 30 points in the final two minutes of play.
The Cobbers wound up shooting 51.6% (16-for-31) from the field and 66.7% (6-for-9) in the decisive second half of play.
For the game CC connected on 47.6% (30-for-63) of their shots from the floor. The only "needs work" shooting performance of the night came at the free throw line where Concordia made only 60.0% (15-for-25) of their foul shot attempts.
In addition to their decided shooting percentage advantage, Concordia also held a 39-29 edge in rebounds and committed 12 less turnovers than Simpson. The Cobbers used the rebounding margin to hold a 20-3 advantage in second-chance points and turned the 12-turnover difference into a 24-5 edge in points off of turnovers.
Concordia had four of their five starting players in double figures in scoring and had Scott Flotterud come off the bench to give CC five players with at least 10 points in the game.
Guards Brandon Giese and Tom Fraase had 15 points each to lead the Cobber attack. Giese was 3-for-3 from 3-point range, 4-for-6 from the field and has led the team in scoring in all three games this year. Fraase went 3-for-5 from outside the arc and 5-for-8 from the field to post his highest point total of the season. He has now scored in double figures in all three games.
The forward tandem of Jordan Bolger and Brady Syverson combined to score 23 points and grab seven rebounds. Bolger was 4-for-6 from the free throw line and had 12 points while Syverson had five rebounds and 11 points.
Flotterud continues to get his "game legs" back after taking all of the 2013-14 season off. Flotterud finished with season highs in points (10) and rebounds (6).
Concordia will finish off the Snyder Classic by facing Crown (Minn.) on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 5:30 p.m. It will be the first of two games against Crown in a span of one month for the Cobbers.