Men’s basketball: Cobbers roll to another upset of MIAC contender – InForum
MOORHEAD — Concordia has lagged in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rankings this season, but the Cobbers twice this week proved they can not only rival the league’s top tier, but can beat them.
Matthew Johnson scored 22 points and the Cobbers made good use of their trips to the free-throw line in an 83-78 win over Macalester Wednesday at the Memorial Auditorium.
It was the Cobbers’ second win over a league contender in three days. Concordia’s 81-76 win over second-placed St. John’s on Monday ended a streak of seven losses in eight games, including five straight losses. The Cobbers lost those seven games, averaging just five points per game.
Michael Vosburg/The Forum
On Wednesday, Concordia defeated a Macalester team that came into the game with the Johnnies second behind conference leader Carleton. The Scots began Concordia’s five-game losing streak with a 60-56 win at St Paul’s on 16 January.
It was a good turn for a Cobbers team that entered the week with a half-game from the MIAC basement. Concordia is now 6-10 in MIAC and 8-13 overall. Macalester fell to 9-6 in the league and 13-7 overall.
The Cobbers took a 29-15 lead midway through the first half and extended the 2:44 lead to 15 points by halftime. But the Scots ended the half-time with an 11-2 run that reduced the Cobbers’ lead to 36-30 at the break.
Michael Vosburg/The Forum
Macalester continued to close the gap and took a 44-43 lead as Coby Gold took a 14-17 lead. But the Cobbers put together an 11-2 run of their own for a 54-46 lead with less than 11 minutes to go.
The Scots took the lead to five points with less than a minute to play but the Cobbers hit 6 of 8 free throws on the stretch to end it.
The Cobbers shot 44 percent from the ground, including 9 of 28 from 3-point range. They made up 18 of 23 free throws after playing 25 of 25 against St. John’s on Monday. They had 17 assists at 28 marks – the Scots only had five assists – and Concordia had a 43-26 rebound advantage.
Johnson registered a double-double with 11 rebounds and he also had four assists. Rowan Nelson had 18 points and eight rebounds, Zach Jackson had 13 points and eight boards, and Jackson Jangula had 12 points and six assists. Dylan Inniger had 11 points off the bench.
Caleb Williams led the Scots with 39 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Gold ended with 20 points and six rebounds.
The Cobbers play Wednesday, February 8 at 5:45 p.m. at the Gustavus in St. Peter, Minnesota.
Michael Vosburg/The Forum
Michael Vosburg/The Forum
