Concordia led by as many as 20 points at the start of the second half before turning the ball over 21 times in the final period and overtime and watching as the Dragons turned up the pressure to reel CC in.
The Cobbers still had a 3-point lead with 30 seconds to play in regulation but a long-range shot from MSU M guard Blake Strouth sent the game into overtime.
In the extra period, Concordia held a 3-point lead with just over two minutes to play but then had the Dragons score six of the final eight points to claim the one-point win.
Cobber junior forward Luke Linz had a big night in his first game back after breaking his foot at the start of the second half of last year. Linz finished with a game-high 25 points and went 13-of-16 from the free throw line. Brock Citterman added 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Cobbers, while sophomore guard Cody Dyshaw had the crowd of over 600 people on their feet in the first half after making four straight 3-point field goals. He finished the game with 14 points and went 5-of-5 from the field. Ryan Johnson rounded out the quartet of Cobber double-digit scoring leaders. He went 4-of-7 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line and finished had 12 points in the game.
MSU M was led by Strouth who became their only offensive threat down the stretch. Strouth connected on 7-of-21 field goal attempts and ended the game with 23 points. Jamal O\'Neal recorded his first double-double of the season by scoring 16 points and coming away with a game-high 10 rebounds. Matt Aakre was the only other Dragon player in double figures. He took all of his shots from behind the arc and finished with 12 points on a 4-of-10 shooting night.
As a team, Concordia was done in by the full-court pressure of the Dragons in the second half. After turning the ball over only eight times in the first half, the Cobbers coughed the ball up 21 more times in the final 25 minutes and finished the game with 29 turnovers. CC shot 53.2% (25-of-47) from the floor in the game including a surprising 61.5% (16-of-26) in their first half of the season. During the opening period, Concordia was 6-of-8 from behind the arc and turned a 21-21 battle into a 47-29 halftime lead.
The other telling stat was the fact that the Cobbers did not make a field goal in the five-minute overtime period. CC scored their six points via the free throw line after going 0-for-4 in the extra session.
The Dragons were unable to hit from 3-point range the entire night. The focal point of their offensive turned against MSU M as they tossed up 30 shots from behind the arc and connected on a frigid 23.3% (7-of-30) of those attempts.
MSU finished the game by shooting 40.0% (34-of-85) from the floor including 3-of-9 in the overtime period.
The Cobbers will travel to Newport News, Va. to compete in the Christopher Newport Tournament on Friday and Saturday. Concordia will open the tourney with Maryland Bible on Friday, Nov. 25 at 4 p.m. and then play the winner/loser of the Christopher Newport/Southern Virginia game on Saturday at either 4 or 6:30 p.m. Christopher Newport is currently ranked 18th in the latest D3hoops.com Division III national poll. The Captains lost to No.1-ranked, and defending national champion, Virginia Wesleyan on Tuesday 72-71.
MSU Moorhead vs Concordia College 11/21/06 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Auditorium/Moorhead, Minn. At Memorial Auditorium/Moorhead, Minn. MSU MOORHEAD 85, CONCORDIA COLLEGE 84 MSU MOORHEAD (3-0) Blake Strouth 7-21 7-9 23; Jamal O'Neal 8-15 0-0 16; Matt Aakre 4-10 0-0 12; J.C. Seals III 4-8 1-3 9; Craig Williams 3-10 1-2 8; Adam Holte 4-5 0-0 8; Lee Isaacson 3-7 0-2 6; Dwayne Hardy Jr. 1-4 1-3 3; Grant Fossum 0-1 0-0 0; Ibrahim Oduniyi 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 34-85 10-19 85. CONCORDIA COLLEGE (0-1) Luke Linz 6-14 13-16 25; Brock Citterman 5-11 3-5 15; Cody Dyshaw 5-5 0-1 14; Ryan Johnson 4-7 4-5 12; Anthony Boike 2-3 2-2 6; James Baldwin 2-3 1-2 5; Eric Meichsner 0-0 3-4 3; Erik Johnson 0-0 2-2 2; E.J. Adams 1-1 0-0 2; Mike Grieme 0-0 0-0 0; Brian Lebsock 0-1 0-0 0; Gavin Ganab 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-47 28-37 84. MSU Moorhead.................. 29 49 7 - 85 Concordia College............. 47 31 6 - 84 3-point goals--MSU Moorhead 7-30 (Matt Aakre 4-10; Blake Strouth 2-8; Craig Williams 1-5; Dwayne Hardy Jr. 0-1; Ibrahim Oduniyi 0-1; J.C. Seals III 0-2; Jamal O'Neal 0-3), Concordia College 6-12 (Cody Dyshaw 4-4; Brock Citterman 2-6; Anthony Boike 0-1; Brian Lebsock 0-1). Fouled out--MSU Moorhead-Lee Isaacson; Craig Williams, Concordia College-None. Rebounds--MSU Moorhead 40 (Jamal O'Neal 10), Concordia College 34 (Brock Citterman 8). Assists--MSU Moorhead 12 (Blake Strouth 6), Concordia College 12 (Brock Citterman 4). Total fouls--MSU Moorhead 28, Concordia College 20. Technical fouls--MSU Moorhead-None, Concordia College-None. A-611 2006-07 Concordia Season Opener