Men’s basketball hits the century mark against Midland, wins 104-82

Junior Hayden Frank drives into the paint against Midland.

Photo credit: Kai Olbrich

By Ransom Watts

Concordia men’s basketball’s red-hot offense scored over a hundred points against Midland, giving the team the win this Wednesday. In the 104-82 win, the Bulldogs showcased some great offensive improvements and generated confidence for upcoming games.

Right from the start, Concordia dismantled Midland’s defense with drive after drive into the paint that gave the Bulldogs a quick lead. Early on, sophomore guard Dane Jacobson left the game with an apparent leg injury after coming down hard on an attempted layup.

Concordia was able to maintain its composure without one of its lead offensive players and continued to run up the score against Midland. Juniors Brooks Kissinger and Jaxon Stueve led the charge with continual drives and a few fast breaks to the basket for some easy points.

With five minutes left in the first half, Concordia took a ten-point lead over Midland and refused to let it go for the rest of the half.

Into the second, the Bulldogs maintained their ten-point lead over the Warriors. Concordia widened the gap with several key three-point shots that gave them even more breathing room. Freshman Garret Johnson entered the game five minutes into the second half and was responsible for back-to-back-to-back three pointers, which put the Bulldogs up over ten points on Midland at 75-59.

After the game, coach Ben Limback attributed much of their success Wednesday night to their ability to shoot threes.

“Tonight we made a lot of threes,” Limback said. “The ability to hit threes really stretched the floor, making it hard to guard Brooks going to the rim.”

Johnson also felt good about the three-pointers he was able to put up.

“I’ve kind of been struggling from three the last, multiple games,” Johnson said. “So it felt nice to finally hit a few and see them go through the rim.”

Throughout the rest of the game, the offense didn’t stop, and Concordia continued to lengthen its lead. With a minute and a half left, senior Zac Kulus made a three-point jump shot that took the Bulldogs from 99 to 102 points. From then on until the buzzer, Concordia continued to play well and took the win.

After the game, Limback shared how the team is improving.

“I think this builds a lot of confidence,” Limback said. “We’re back at home on Saturday, and I think to be at home here at Friedrich Arena is a huge deal.”

Fans of Concordia basketball would probably agree that another home game will be a huge deal for the Bulldogs. Fans can catch this weekend’s game in Friedrich Arena at 3:45 p.m., where the now 14-7 Bulldogs will take on Dordt University.