Men’s basketball loses to Northwestern Red Raiders, 87-70
Senior forward Tristan Smith (22) looks to get open to accept the ball from a teammate (photo from previous game).
Photo credit: Maddy Peters
By Maddy Peters
Sports Editor
The No. 13 Concordia men’s basketball team had their 12-game winning streak smashed by the No. 16 Northwestern College Red Raiders Saturday afternoon in Orange City, Iowa with an 87-70 loss.
Northwestern’s upset created a reverse situation from the last time the teams met back in mid-January with the Bulldogs coming out with a 15-point win at home.
The Red Raiders did not waste any time taking the lead away from the Bulldogs and not giving them the opportunity to respond. Concordia lagged behind in field goals and three-pointers with a 14-27 and 4-12 ratio respectively. Northwestern was able to get more shots off and was more successful going 17-32 on field goals and 6-15 on three-pointers. The Bulldogs went to the locker room down by nine at 42-33.
The second half was not any better for Concordia. Despite going into the bonus with a little over 10 in the half, the Bulldogs were unable to chip down the Red Raider lead. Furthermore, with 11 fouls on Concordia, Northwestern was able to take away that advantage by the end of the game. The Red Raider lead barely dipped below double digits around that 10-minute mark then shot back up to cement the upset.
Concordia shot a poor 12-32 field goal ratio for 38 percent efficiency in the second half. They were also off the mark on three-pointers making one out of nine attempts. Northwestern did not have much more luck with threes hitting 2-6 but was incredibly efficient in field goals going 17-29.
Senior Tristin Smith was once again the top scorer for the day with 22 points to his name. Smith also led the team in assists and rebounds with five and six respectively. Sophomore Brooks Kissinger had 15 points on the day including the singular three-pointer made in the second half. Senior Noah Schutte rounded out the top scorers with 13 points.
With the win streak broken, Concordia now has a 19-5 overall record and 12-4 record in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. They next play Hastings College in Hastings on Feb. 12 at 7:45 p.m.
