Comeback Trail Goes Cold Again Wis.-Platteville
Concordia couldn't recreate their second-half magic against Wis.-Platteville and fell 81-65 to the Pioneers in their final game of the D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (12/29/22)---Concordia entered their game with Wis.-Platteville in the D3hoops.com Classic riding the wave of a 3-game win streak, with all three victories coming after the Cobbers trailed at the half.
There would be no second-half comeback trail for the Cobbers against the Pioneers as they were never able to erase a 7-point deficit at the break and fell 81-65 to the Pioneers.
Concordia (5-6) cut the deficit to only two points in the second half when Dylan Inniger was able to get free under the basket and put home the layup with 13:05 left to play. But then Platteville went on a 10-2 run to push the lead to double figures, and was able to hold on down the stretch to get the win.
The Cobbers shot 51.0% (25-for-49) from the floor and 29.4% (5-for-17) from distance for the game. CC was also 10-for-15 (66.7%) from the foul line.
Wis.-Platteville (7-5) shot 56.4% (31-for-55) from the field, 47.6% (10-for-21) from 3-point range and 75.0% (9-for-12) from the free throw stripe.
Besides the stat advantage from behind the arc, the Pioneers also outrebounded the Cobbers 31-19. The 19 boards by CC are the fewest in a game this season.
The Cobbers won the battle around the basket, as they held a 36-34 edge in points in the paint.
Sophomore Rowan Nelson scored 11 of his team-high 18 points in the second half. He was 8-for-12 from the floor in the game. Nelson also added a team-high four boards.
Dylan Inniger, Jackson Jangula and Matthew Johnson all factored in with double-digit scoring games. The four players finished with 55 of the team's 65 points in the game.
Inniger was 5-for-6 from the field and had 13 points, while both Jangula and Johnson came away with 12 points. Jangula scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half, and Johnson posted eight of his 12 points in the second half.
D3HOOPS.COM CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
John Seidman, Franklin & Marshall, Most Outstanding Player
Matthew Johnson, Concordia-Moorhead
Josh Parra, Franklin & Marshall
Omar Nicholas, Franklin & Marshall
Ben Probst, UW-Platteville
Jordan Myers, Ramapo
Jaylin McCants, Dubuque
Matthew Johnson, Concordia-Moorhead
UP NEXT: Concordia will hop back on the plane and return to Minnesota to begin a 4-game conference road trip to start the New Year. CC will start 2023 by playing at Carleton on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 5:15 p.m.