The loss put a damper on Concordia's hopes to host a first-round conference playoff game. The Cobbers were tied with Bethel entering the game and now falls a full game behind the Royals for fourth place in the MIAC with only two games left to play in the regular season.
Concordia is now 10-8 in league games and 12-10 overall. Bethel climbs to 11-7 in the conference and 13-7 overall. There is a very good chance that the two teams could face each other in the opening round of the playoffs. In the first round, the #5 seed plays at the #4 seed and that is where the two teams are currently situated.
The critical stretch of the game came in the final six minutes of the first half and the first seven minutes of the second half. Bethel outscored Concordia 36-7 during that stretch, and turned a nip-and-tuck game at 24-21 into a route at 60-28.
Keith Eckhoff and Brock Citterman were the only two Concordia players that scored over eight points in the game. Eckhoff totaled a team-high 17 points and the ever-improving Citterman knocked down 12 points. For Citterman it was his second consecutive game that he scored in double figures. Luke Linz added a game-high seven rebounds to go along with eight points.
Travis Jones pulled a Soren Nelson against the Cobbers. On Wednesday, Nelson needed 12 points to go over the 1,000-point barrier. He shattered that mark in the first half by scoring 23 points and finished with a game-high 33 points. Jones entered the game against the Cobbers needing 18 points to surpass the 1,000-point milestone. He scored 19 in the first half on his way to a game-high 25 points. Jones went 5-of-7 from behind the arc and missed only two shots all game. He was 9-of-11 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. Tim Gilbert made a trio of shots from behind the arc and added 15 points in the winning effort.
Concordia will play their last regualr-season home game when they host St. Thomas on Wednesday, February 16 at 7:3opm. The game can be heard live on 1280AM "The Fan" radio in the Fargo-Moorhead area and via the internet at
www.gocobbers.com.
Newspaper Box Score Concordia College vs Bethel University 02/12/05 3:00 p.m. at Robertson Center at Bethel University At Robertson Center at Bethel University BETHEL UNIVERSITY 85, CONCORDIA COLLEGE 69 CONCORDIA COLLEGE (10-8 MIAC, 12-11) Keith Eckhoff 6-12 5-6 17; Brock Citterman 3-7 5-6 12; Luke Linz 3-5 2-2 8; Jason Miller 2-5 2-2 6; Soren Nelson 2-10 2-2 6; Gavin Ganab 2-3 0-0 5; Anthony Boike 2-3 1-2 5; Ryan Templeton 1-3 0-0 3; Mark Dixon 1-4 0-0 3; E.J. Adams 1-2 0-0 2; Eric Meichsner 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-56 19-22 69. BETHEL UNIVERSITY (11-7 MIAC, 16-7) Travis Jones 9-11 2-2 25; Tim Gilbert 6-12 0-0 15; Isaac Hinrichs 4-7 3-3 11; Andy Cook 4-5 0-0 8; Wade Blazejak 3-7 0-0 7; Issac Allen 2-4 0-0 6; Trent Perry 3-6 0-0 6; Tyson Bjorklund 1-5 0-0 3; Charles Meadowcroft 1-2 0-0 2; Matt Fredrickson 0-2 2-2 2; Chris Breit 0-1 0-0 0; Jake Donatelle 0-1 0-0 0; Steve Strom 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 33-65 7-7 85. Concordia College............. 23 46 - 69 Bethel University............. 41 44 - 85 3-point goals-Concordia College 4-10 (Gavin Ganab 1-1; Mark Dixon 1-1; Ryan Templeton 1-2; Dan Lund 1-2; Eric Meichsner 0-1; Soren Nelson 0-2; Keith Eckhoff 0-1), Bethel University 12-30 (Travis Jones 5-7; Tim Gilbert 3-5; Issac Allen 2-4; Tyson Bjorklund 1-5; Wade Blazejak 1-4; Matt Fredrickson 0-2; Jake Donatelle 0-1; Trent Perry 0-2). Fouled out--Concordia College-None, Bethel University-None. Rebounds-Concordia College 33 (Luke Linz 7), Bethel University 33 (Andy Cook 6; Travis Jones 6). Assists-Concordia College 14 (Luke Linz 5), Bethel University 22 (Travis Jones 5). Total fouls-Concordia College 8, Bethel University 18. A-927