No. 18 Dakota Wesleyan Ends Concordia’s Men’s Basketball Season

by Jacy Johnston

The Concordia men’s basketball team entered the GPAC tournament hoping for a Cinderella run to nationals, but the Bulldogs were unable to pull the upset over the No. 18 Dakota Wesleyan Tigers on Wednesday, Feb. 24 in Mitchell, South Dakota.

The Bulldogs started the game with quick points from senior Micah Kohlwey to lead 7-2. The Tigers soon gained the home arena momentum to earn a 16-11 lead with a 9-0 offensive spurt. Kohlwey helped cut the deficit to five with a pair of free throws. With under 10 minutes left in first half action, Dakota Wesleyan led 27-22. The Tigers maintained a steady two-possession lead until senior Jamie Pearson stepped up to make a bucket and foul to get the Bulldogs within three points. At the half, Dakota Wesleyan led Concordia 44-41.

The final 20 minutes started in favor of Dakota Wesleyan, who gained a quick 56-45 lead with 14:17 left in play. With under 10 minutes left, the Bulldogs trailed 69-55. With six minutes left to play, junior Max Wegener closed the gap to 10 points with a layup. With the clocking winding down to its final minute, seniors Robby Thomas and Kohlwey nailed a 3-pointer apiece to make the score 84-78. The Tigers held on to win the contest 90-82.

A balanced scoring effort by the Bulldogs put four players in double digits. Pearson and Kohlwey scored 15 and 12 points respectively. Wegener also tallied 12 points while junior Chandler Folkerts chipped in 11 points.

The Concordia men finished their season with an 18-12 overall record and a 10-10 GPAC record. Concordia looks to improve next season without the help of the four seniors: Kohlwey, Pearson, Thomas and Alex Wakefield.