Men’s basketball earns three-digit score in win against Broncos, 101-82
Senior forward Tristan Smith (22) goes for the ball among a tangle of players, as sophomore forward Lukas Helms (2) approaches from the other side (photo from previous game).
Photo credit: Maddy Peters
By Kai Olbrich
The Concordia Bulldogs defeated conference opponent the Hastings Broncos in an impressive offensive showing, winning the match 101-82 Wednesday evening.
The usual suspects of seniors Noah Schutte and Tristan Smith played their part, but it was senior Bradley Bennett and sophomore Brooks Kissinger who stole the show at Friedrich Arena.
Bennett drained four shots from deep in the opening half which led the Bulldogs to a narrow early lead through 15 minutes. The Bulldogs went up by as much as 11 before heading to the locker room with a 48-40 halftime lead.
Coach Ben Limback knows that when his team moves the ball well, they have the personnel to make shots and get points.
“Brad Bennett was smoking hot there,” said Limback. “When Tristan and Noah, you know, find the open man like that, you know, we’re pretty hard to guard. And I think, you know, that that’s something good offensively we had 25 assists, and I think the ball was moving. Yeah, I mean they were losing him at times. And you know again Tristan and Noah, they get a lot of double teams. I think Brad takes advantage of that. And certainly, when you got a guy that can line it up from deep and stretch the floor and he was really good.”
The second half started well for the Broncos who cut the deficit to just four points and forced a timeout call from the Bulldog bench with 12 minutes remaining in the game.
The timeout served its purpose, however, and after the short intermission, the Bulldogs went on a 16-7 run to put themselves up 80-67 with seven minutes left in the game. Sophomore Brooks Kissinger played a big part off the bench in growing back the lead as he totaled 16 points in the second half. Adding in his five first-half points gave Kissinger a team-high 21 points on the night, as well as a career high for himself.
Limback has seen Kissinger’s ability grow all season and was happy to see the impact he was able to make.
“He’s been doing that in practice all year,” said Limback. “I think he had a lot of confidence tonight. And I think it was fun to watch him get better and better and better as the game went on. And, even defensively, I thought he was really good. So, I thought a huge lift off the bench.”
The Bulldogs played some good defense down the final stretch and were able to build a 19-point lead and win the game 101-82. This game is the first time since Jan. 10, 2024, in a game against Doane, that the Bulldogs have surpassed the 100-point mark.
Kissinger led in points with 21, followed by Bennett with 20, Schutte with 17, Smith with 15, and sophomore Jaxon Stueve had 14. Schutte led with eight rebounds, Smith had eight assists and two blocks, and Kissinger also led the team in steals with three.
The Bulldogs now are 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the conference. They are back in action on Dec. 14 as they travel to Forest City, Iowa to face Waldorf University. The game is set to begin at 3:45 p.m.
