Cold Shooting Touch Down The Stretch Costs Cobbers
Concordia was outscored 9-1 in the final three minutes of their game with St. John's and lost 73-68. Jordan Bolger had another 24-point game.
MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/28/15)—In almost a carbon copy of the women's game which was the first game of the doubleheader, Concordia led for almost the entire game but then got cold down the stretch and lost 73-68 to St. John's.
The Cobbers led by six at 61-55 with 6:10 to play but watched as the Johnnies scored nine of the final 10 points in the last 3-minutes of the game and lost by five. CC was 2-for-11 from the floor in the final six minutes of play.
The defeat ends Concordia's two-game winning streak and also brings an end to the Cobbers' seven-game home winning streak against the Johnnies. St. John's last win in Moorhead was during the 2006-07 season.
Concordia is now 10-7 in all games and 6-6 in the MIAC. The Cobbers are still tied for sixth place in the league standings. St. John's moves to 8-4 in conference play and a similar 10-7 in all games.
The Cobbers remained in the game despite a hot shooting hand for the Johnnies. Concordia led 40-37 at the break after St. John's shot 75.0% (12-for-16) from the floor and 100.0% (2-for-2) from outside the arc in the opening 20 minutes of play. The Cobbers were able to counteract the SJU deft touch by knocking down six shots from long range and making five more field goals.
St. John's didn't cool off in the second half, connecting on 57.9% (11-for-19) of their field goal attempts and 75.0% (3-for-4) of their shots from 3-point range. The Cobbers cooled off considerably in the final 20 minutes. CC was 8-for-27 (29.6%) from the field and 2-for-12 (16.7%) from outside the arc.
Concordia vs. St. John's Highlights - Jan. 28, 2015
Concordia stayed in the game in the second half by getting second-chance baskets after coming away with seven offensive rebounds.
The Cobbers had the chance to take the lead on three occasions in the final 1:30 of play but three consecutive missed shots on the same trip down the court resulted in zero points and allowed St. John's to push the lead to three points with 38-seconds to play and force CC to try and come up with a 3-point field goal in the final seconds of play.
Concordia finished the game by shooting 44.6% (25-for-56) from the floor. It is only the second time all season that the Cobbers have shot 40,0% or better from the field and lost. CC is now 9-2 in games where they shoot 40.0% or better. The Cobbers finished the game by shooting 30.8% (8-for-26) from 3-point range.
The biggest statistical difference, besides the shooting percentage from the field, came at the free throw line where St. John's made 22-of-29 foul shots while the Cobbers attempted only 11 and made 10.
Concordia senior Jordan Bolger continues to be the "go-to" offensive player. He matched his career high of 24 points for the second straight game. Bolger was 8-for-12 from the floor and 8-for-9 from the free throw line. He also had a game-high nine rebounds to go with two steals and two assists. Bolger is now third in the MIAC in scoring and rebounding in league games.
Senior guard Brandon Giese was the only other Concordia player with more than seven points in the game. Giese went 7-for-14 from the floor and 4-for-10 from 3-point range and came away with 18 points.
Concordia will look to get back to their winning ways when they host Macalester in the fifth, and final, game of their five-game home stand on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 3 p.m.
