Darrin Olmscheid netted the 1,000th point of his career late in the first half Wednesday at Memorial Auditorium. Then things really started to roll for the Concordia senior.
Olmscheid scored 17 points in the second half en route to a 24-point performance. His effort helped spark the Cobbers to an 88-70 victory against St. Olaf in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball.
"I knew it was coming, a couple of my buddies told me and I was like, 'I wish you wouldn't have told me that.' I didn't want it to be a distraction for the game," said Olmscheid, who entered the game with 994 career points.
The Cobbers (9-6, 5-5 MIAC) snapped a two-game losing streak and swept the two-game season series with St. Olaf in the process.
"That was just a big win. I feel we really needed to get this win tonight to get that winning feeling back," Cobbers coach Rich Glas said.
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Olmscheid reached the milestone, sinking a foul shot with 32 seconds remaining in the first half.
"Darrin is as good an offensive player as there is in the league," said Cobbers senior forward John Fraase. "He is hands down the best player I have ever played with. Anything he does doesn't really surprise us."
Olmscheid received a standing ovation when he hit 1,000 and a number of people in the crowd held up pieces of paper with "1,000" printed on them.
"It was pretty amazing. I didn't know that was going on. My mom (Susan) came up and surprised me from the (Twin) Cities so that was nice, too," said Olmscheid, who played his prep basketball in Buffalo, Minn. "That's something I have never done before. It was a big milestone for me."
Olmscheid and Fraase fueled a big second half. Fraase scored 21 of his season-high 29 points in the second half. The Cobbers scored 50 points after halftime. Olmscheid and Fraase combined to shoot 19 of 25 (76 percent) from the field. Concordia shot 60 percent (33 of 55) as a team from the floor.
"Tonight was all about our ball movement," Fraase said. "I scored a lot of points tonight, but a lot of them were right off assists. I was very fortunate. A lot of credit goes to everyone for moving the ball tonight."
The Cobbers finished with 24 assists on their 33 baskets. Concordia also shot 50 percent (10 of 20) from 3-point range.
"That's pretty doggone good basketball," Glas said. "As a result we got some easy baskets inside. Plus, we shot it well from the perimeter."
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The Cobbers forged into the lead for good with a 14-5 run that started early in the second half. Fraase scored the first eight Concordia points during that surge. Olmscheid capped the rally with a 3-pointer from the right wing that gave the Cobbers a 52-43 lead with 14 minutes, 50 seconds remaining in the second half. Concordia led by as many as 21 points in the second half.
"This just showed that if we keep moving the ball and relax we can be as good as anyone," Fraase said.
ST. OLAF (10-5, 5-5 MIAC): Neville 4-10 2-3 10, Jaryan 1-4 2-2 5, Sheley 5-9 0-0 12, Gunderson 1-3 0-0 2, Fong 5-18 1-2 12, Bestler 0-0 0-0 0, Jenson 1-4 0-1 3, Kuck 5-8 0-0 14, Hultgren 0-1 0-0 0, Wieloch 3-3 0-1 7, Krosschell 1-1 3-4 5, Aslesen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-62 8-13 70.
CONCORDIA (9-6, 5-5): Olmscheid 8-11 5-5 24, Fraase 11-14 7-8 29, Molina 1-2 0-0 3, Nana-Kweson 4-7 0-0 9, Olson 1-3 0-0 2, Lien 4-8 0-0 12, Hartmann 0-1 0-0 0, Lindahl 1-1 0-0 2, Wachter 1-1 0-0 2, Hagemeyer 0-2 0-0 0, Martinson 2-5 0-0 5. Totals 33-55 12-13 88.
Half: CC 38, SO 35. 3-point goals: SO 10-22 (Neville 0-1, Jaryan 1-4, Sheley 2-4, Fong 1-6, Jenson 1-2, Kuck 4-4, Wieloch 1-1), CC 10-20 (Olmscheid 3-4, Molina 1-1, Nana-Kweson 1-2, Olson 0-1, Lien 4-7, Hartmann 0-1, Martinson 1-4). Total fouls: SO 15, CC 17. Rebounds: SO 28 (Fong 9), CC 33 (Fraase 8, Nana-Kweson 8). Assists: SO 15 (Neville 3), CC 24 (Molina 5). Steals: SO 3 (three players with 1), CC 3 (three players with 1). Turnovers: SO 7 (Neville 2), CC 9 (Olson 3).
Readers can reach Forum reporter Eric Peterson at (701) 241-5513.
Peterson's blog can be found at peterson.areavoices.com
