Bulldogs keep season alive against Dordt

Dane Jacobsen makes a free throw against Mount Marty (photo from previous game).

Photo credit: Kai Olbrich

By Kai Olbrich

Sports Editor

The Concordia men’s basketball team advanced to the Great Plains Athletic Conference semifinals with a comeback win over Dordt University on Wednesday, 66-60.

A poor offensive first half in which Concordia scored 23 points, was flipped on its head as the Bulldogs went on to score 31 in the final 10 minutes of the game. Shooting from the first to the second half increased from 29% on field-goal attempts and 15.8% from three to 50% and 33.3%.

A big piece of the comeback puzzle was junior Brooks Kissinger, who came up big in the closing minutes. Kissinger is ranked third in the GPAC in points-per-game with 21.9, and was set to finish slightly below that mark with 12 points through 32 minutes. As the minutes counted down, however, Kissinger increased his production by putting up another 11 points in the last eight minutes of the game. He also led the team with seven rebounds.

Kissinger believes that the team’s trust in the game plan and each other helped them stay in the game.

“I think it came down to staying together and not panicking,” Kissinger said. “We trusted our preparation and stuck to the game plan. Defensively, we started getting stops and turning those into transition opportunities. Once we saw a couple shots fall, the energy shifted, and we fed off each other.”

Sophomore Dane Jacobsen was another clutch performer for the Bulldogs. His production throughout the first 39 minutes was solid, with eight points and three rebounds to his name, but his 4-4 free-throw shooting in the final 30 seconds helped seal the victory for Concordia.

Junior Jaxon Stueve was an important force on defense, as he stole the ball six times from Dordt players. Stueve also dished out three assists with three rebounds and four points.

As a team, the Bulldogs consistently got steals, with 15 throughout the game. They more than doubled Dordt’s count of steals and had half of the overall turnovers.

The Bulldogs will play a familiar foe in No. 1 Morningside in the GPAC semifinal. The Bulldogs have played the top GPAC team very close twice this season. Concordia suffered a 91-87 loss on Jan. 7 and a 123-115 2OT loss on Feb. 7. The game is scheduled for Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. in Sioux City, Iowa.