Men’s Basketball Wins First Game of Cattle Classic

Photo Courtesy of Sower Staff

By Olivia Dunklau

An easy win was at the expense of the Concordia Men’s Basketball team versus Emmaus Bible College Friday night in Friedrich Arena. The Bulldogs won with a final score of 107-48. 

The team now has a record of 2-1, their only loss being to Hastings College. Starters for the game included senior Sam Scarpelli, juniors Carter Kent, Justin Wiersema, Gage Smith, and Klay Uher.

Both teams started the game off offensively slow. Once Scarpelli hit the first layup, the Bulldogs took off on a scoring spree. Scoring 44 points in the first half, the Bulldogs saw many off the bench to receive playing time. 

While the Bulldogs had a solid lead by 23 points at the end of the first, they still looked for more of their shots to fall through the hoop. The team was 19-for-42 on shots taken and only 5-for-20 behind the three point line. Freshman varsity player Braedon Wiltse saw playing time in the first and noticed the amount of good shots being taken but the number not making it through.

“We knew that we were taking the right shots and said we just need to keep shotting because they’ll start to fall,” Wiltse said. “We made sure that we would come out strong in the second half and not let up on the gas.”

That’s exactly what the Bulldogs did, improving their field goal percentage to 63.2% and going 24-for-38 on shots. The team also improved their freethrows moving from 20% in the first half to 81.8% in the second. 

Freshman Noah Shutte and Drew Wheeler each earned eight points. Wheeler hit two three pointers and Schutte threw down a hard dunk after dribbling down the baseline.

Wiersema was the leading scorer with 11 points and five assists. Smith lead with 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs and earning his own eight points for the team. Scarpelli followed not far behind with 10 points, going 4-for-7 on shots. Sophomore Jackson Hirschfeld with 9 points in the game looks with high hopes towards the next game against Manhattan Christian College. 

“It was nice to get another win under our belt,” Hirschfeld said. “We look forward to the next game to keep building on our season and getting better day by day.” 

The Bulldogs face Manhattan Christian College in Friedrich Arena on Saturday at 4 p.m. 

A reminder that the Cattle Classic is holding a canned food drive. Canned foods can be brought in exchange for admission. Six cans for an adult or six dollars and three cans for Concordia students and children or two dollars per game.