Men’s Basketball Drops Final Regular Season Game to No. 6 Briar Cliff
by Jacy Johnston
The Concordia men’s basketball team traveled to Briar Cliff University on Saturday, Feb. 20 to finish out its regular season. Despite a close second half, the Bulldogs were unable to create the victory and fell 98-84 to the Chargers.
The Bulldogs started with zero offense and were outscored 17-1 in the first minutes of the game. The Chargers connected on four of their first five outside shots. The Chargers’ Clay Harreld led Briar Cliff with an outstanding nine 3-pointers to his name to contribute to his game-high 31 points. The Bulldogs quickly fought back into the contest with a 16-7 run off of junior Eli Zielger’s 3-point shooting. Despite the offensive burst, Concordia trailed 52-36 at the break.
The second half went much better for Concordia as the Bulldogs outscored the Chargers 48-46. However, Concordia could not overcome the double-digit deficit. With three minutes left in the game, the Bulldogs trailed 92-73. Concordia finished the game with 27 turnovers in the books.
Senior Jamie Pearson led Concordia with 18 points in the game. Junior Chandler Folkerts contributed his usual double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Juniors Justin Damme and Zielger each netted 13 and 11 points respectively. Senior Robby Thomas rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season with an 18-11 overall record. In the GPAC, the Bulldogs stand at an even .500, 10-10.
Concordia earned the sixth seed for the GPAC tournament and will play on Wednesday, Feb. 24. The Bulldogs will travel to Dakota Wesleyan for an 8 p.m. matchup.
