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Home Sports Buzzer Beater Ends Losing Streak; Bulldogs Split Honolulu Games

Photo Courtesy of Lyric Allen

By Elisha Meyer

 

A game-winning shot from Brevin Sloup with two seconds left to go verses the Menlo College Oaks on Sunday gave the Concordia Bulldogs a 1-1 record in their first trip to Hololulu, Hawaii since 2001.

The win snapped a four-game losing streak that began on December 7 with a 77-57 loss to Dakota Wesleyan. The Bulldogs had lost only one game before the streak to Briar Cliff University in heart-breaking fashion. 

The first day of Concordia’s aloha to Hawaii did not quite go as planned. The Bulldogs took a 37-23 lead into halftime against MidAmerican Nazarene University on Saturday, the majority of which came from nine shots made from behind the three-point arc. 

The second-half seemed to result in the exact opposite, as the Bulldogs shot only 30.6% from the floor and made only one three for the rest of the game. What hurt them even more was zero made free throws, as the Bulldogs went 0-8 from the foul line. 

The Pioneers took advantage of the offensive struggles, shooting a whopping 54.1% from the floor in the second half.

The Pioneers also used foul shots to their advantage, earning 17 shots from the free throw line, compared to just two in the first half. All of this led to the Pioneers taking the lead with 4:52 left to go, completely wearing out the Bulldogs in a 65-60 win.

Now in desperate need of a win, the Bulldogs were set to face off against the Oaks of Menlo College. The win would not come easy, as Concordia took a slim three-point lead into halftime 30-27. Trips to the foul line once again resulted in no points, and foul trouble kept the Oaks in the game despite a 25.7 shooting percentage in the first half.

The score would remain tight throughout the rest of the game, with the Bulldogs biggest lead a mere six points. With the game tied up at 57 apiece and just a minute remaining, either team could have feasibly walked away with the “W”. Concordia, destined to break out of its funk, took the lead via a Sloup jump-shot with two seconds remaining to ultimately give the Bulldogs their first win in nearly a month. 

The Bulldogs will take a 7-5 record into a post-Christmas matchup versus Peru State College on December 28.

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