MOORHEAD-Concordia went seven-plus minutes without a point in the first half Monday night, a stale stretch that proved costly.
No. 5-ranked St. Thomas took advantage of that Cobbers cold stretch, building a 16-point halftime lead. The Tommies used that strong opening half to fuel a 79-70 victory in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball.
"They're a very good basketball team," Cobbers head coach Rich Glas said. "We just did not play a 40-minute ballgame. You get down 16 in a half against them, it's tough."
The Cobbers (10-7, 7-5 MIAC) had their five-game winning streak snapped. Concordia fell to sixth place in the conference, and are one game behind a cluster of teams tied for second in the MIAC.
Concordia hosts St. Olaf (which is tied for second place in the league) at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday.
ADVERTISEMENT
"There is a lot of season left and we're fighting to get into that top tier of teams," Glas said.
The Tommies built a 16-point cushion with a 12-0 run that started with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half. Senior guard Taylor Montero capped that rally with a 3-pointer that gave the Tommies a 35-19 lead with 4 minutes, 5 seconds to play until halftime.
"They're just tough because everyone on the floor is a threat to shoot the ball," said Cobbers senior Jordan Bolger, who had 17 points and seven rebounds. "They made their shots the first half and we didn't and that gap in the first half was insurmountable for us today."
The Cobbers cut the Tommies lead to 23-19 after senior Brady Syverson scored an inside basket with 8:39 to play in the opening half. Concordia didn't score again until Isaac Anderson scored an inside hoop that cut the St. Thomas lead to 35-21 with 1:11 to play in the half.
"We went seven minutes without a basket there," Bolger said. "That makes it hard to play defense, to get stops, mentally and stuff. We got good looks, we've just got to hit them."
The Cobbers rallied in the second half, shooting 63 percent (15 of 24) from the floor over the final 20 minutes. Concordia cut the St. Thomas lead to five points on two occasions in the second half.
"Concordia has a stockpile of shooters," St. Thomas head coach John Tauer said. "They have exceptional shooters all around the court. They're one of the top shooting teams in the country for a reason."
The Cobbers tried to rally late, draining four 3-pointers in the final 70 seconds. St. Thomas, however, made 16 of 17 foul shots in the final two minutes to protect its lead.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We've been in a lot of close games over the years and our veterans certainly played with the poise that we hoped they would have," Tauer said.
ST. THOMAS (16-1, 11-1 MIAC): Boll 6-10 0-0 13, Saarela 2-4 8-9 12, Tillman 4-11 10-10 19, Shaeffer 5-9 2-3 13, Montero 5-8 2-2 15, Veil 0-2 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Burich 0-0 0-0 0, Remke 2-3 3-4 7. Totals 24-47 25-28 79.
CONCORDIA (10-7, 7-5): Syverson 2-8 0-0 4, Bolger 5-11 5-6 17, Nelson 1-5 3-4 6, Fraase 4-8 2-2 13, Alderman 5-9 6-8 16, Kinny 1-2 0-0 3, Ellingson 0-0 0-0 0, Saad 0-0 0-0 0, Bergeson 1-1 0-0 3, Heins 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 4-5 0-0 8. Totals 23-49 16-20 70.
Half: UST 39, CC 23. 3-point goals: UST 6-14 (Boll 1-1, Tillman 1-5, Shaeffer 1-2, Montero 3-5, Remke 0-1), CC 8-14 (Bolger 2-2, Nelson 1-2, Fraase 3-6, Alderman 0-1, Kinny 1-2, Bergeson 1-1). Total fouls: UST 16, CC 23. Fouled out: Bolger, Alderman. Rebounds: UST 28 (Saarela 10), CC 25 (Bolger 7). Assists: UST 7 (three players with 2), CC 7 (Alderman 3). Steals: UST 9 (Tillman 3), CC 6 (Alderman 2, Anderson 2). Turnovers: UST 11 (Saarela 4), CC 12 (Alderman 3).
