MOORHEAD, MINN. – After building a lead as large as seven in the first half, the Gustavus Adolphus men’s basketball team could not seal the deal in a 58-51 loss to Concordia College on Wednesday evening at Memorial Auditorium. The loss sends Gustavus to .500 in the MIAC with a record of 8-8 (12-9 overall), while Concordia jumps to 9-7 in the MIAC and 13-8 overall.
The Gusties were able to jump out to an early 13-6 lead at the 13:09 mark in the first half, but Concordia was able to go on a 13-5 run over the next 9:27 to take its first lead of the game at 19-18 with 3:42 to play in the opening frame. Following a Chad Poppen (Jr., St. Peter, Minn.) jumper with 1:31 remaining, the Cobbers’ Tom Fraase converted an old-fashioned four-point play to put Concordia back in front by three (23-20). Brody Ziegler (Jr., Mankato, Minn.) notched a jumper for the Gusties before time expired in the first half, but Concordia still took a 23-22 lead into the break.
Following halftime, neither team led by more than four points until Concordia grabbed a six point lead (52-46) with 2:10 remaining thanks to a 7-0 run that was highlighted by five points from Fraase. A foul by Concordia’s Brandon Giese allowed Poppen to shorten the deficit to four (52-48) with 1:55 to go. However, two costly Gustie turnovers in the game’s final minute did not allow Gustavus to get the offensive possessions it so needed, negated the Cobbers going 2-for-5 from the free-throw line in the game’s final 30 seconds and allowed Concordia to secure the seven-point win.
Similar to the two teams’ last game in St. Peter on Jan. 14, both teams again shot poorly, with Gustavus shooting 40.4 percent from the floor and Concordia being even worse at 37 percent. The Gusties out-rebounded the Cobbers 38-32, but committed 16 turnovers compared to the home team’s nine, contributing to a whopping 11 Concordia steals.
Ziegler led Gustavus with his first double-double of the season with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting and 11 rebounds. Gary Cooper (Jr., Detroit, Mich) also tallied 12 points (6-of-10 shooting) and brought down two boards.
Fraase led Concordia with a game-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including going 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. Jordan Bolger was next in line with 10 points and a game-high 17 rebounds, including five on the offensive end.
With four games remaining in the regular season, Gustavus is now locked in a tie with Augsburg College for sixth place in the MIAC standings. The Gusties will look to bounce back and snap their three-game losing streak when they take on Saint Mary’s University on Saturday in St. Peter. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. on Gus Young Court.