The crucial win for the Cobbers improves their MIAC record to 2-3 and overall mark to 4-5. The Scots fall back into a tie with Concordia as they see their conference record slide to 2-3. They are now 3-7 overall and have a 1-7 record on the road.
The inside-outside tandem of Soren Nelson and Keith Eckhoff to be too much of for the Scot defense. Nelson used the first game of 2005 to return to his form from the 2003-04 season. He continually muscled his way to the basket from the low post and finished with 19 points. Eckhoff followed up his 38-point game against UM-Morris by scorching Macalester for a game-high 26 points. He shot 60% (6-of-10) from the floor but was an impressive 12-of-13 from the free throw line. In the past two games he has taken 30 free throws and has connected on 27 (90.0%). Jason Miller added 14 points and has now scored in double figures in four of the team's last five games. Luke Linz put in solid minutes off the bench for Concordia. In 22 minutes of play, he hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds and finished with five points.
Freshman Tommy Conboy paced the Scots with 19 points. Point guard Erik Jackson scored 13 points in the first half but was limited to a single field goal in the second half and finished with 15. He also had a team-high, five rebounds.
The Cobbers held a decided edge in two statistical categories for the game. Concordia outrebounded Macalester 38-17 in the game, 22-6 in the second half alone, and shot 29 free throws as compared to only 14 for the Scots. Concordia converted on 26 of their 29 free throw attempts (89.7%), while Macalester made 8 of their 14 (57.1%) attempts from the line.
Concordia will host Carleton on Wednesday, January 5 at 7:30pm in the second half of a Cobber men's and women's basketball doubleheader. Both games 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 Macalester College vs Concordia College 1-3-05 7:30 at Moorhead, MN/Memorial Auditorium At Moorhead, MN/Memorial Auditorium CONCORDIA COLLEGE 77, MACALESTER COLLEGE 68 MACALESTER COLLEGE (2-3 MIAC/3-7) Tom Conboy 8-14 3-7 19; Erik Jackson 6-14 0-0 15; Jesse Hollander 2-2 3-5 7; Will Moeller 3-5 0-0 7; Brad Liddell 2-4 0-0 6; Lars Johnson 2-5 0-0 5; Wes McFarland 1-7 2-2 4; Brendan Bosman 1-3 0-0 3; Chris Dwyer 1-1 0-0 2; Jon VanWagenen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-56 8-14 68. CONCORDIA COLLEGE (2-3 MIAC/4-5) Keith Eckhoff 6-10 12-13 26; Soren Nelson 7-14 5-6 19; Jason Miller 6-7 2-2 14; Ryan Templeton 3-5 2-2 9; Luke Linz 1-3 3-4 5; Eric Meichsner 1-2 2-2 4; E.J. Adams 0-1 0-0 0; Dan Lund 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-43 26-29 77. Macalester College............ 36 32 - 68 Concordia College............. 35 42 - 77 3-point goals-Macalester College 8-21 (Erik Jackson 3-7; Brad Liddell 2-3; Lars Johnson 1-3; Will Moeller 1-3; Brendan Bosman 1-2; Wes McFarland 0-1; Tom Conboy 0-2), Concordia College 3-7 (Keith Eckhoff 2-3; Ryan Templeton 1-2; Soren Nelson 0-2). Fouled out--Macalester College-None, Concordia College-Soren Nelson. Rebounds-Macalester College 17 (Lars Johnson 5), Concordia College 38 (Luke Linz 10). Assists-Macalester College 15 (Erik Jackson 5), Concordia College 11 (Keith Eckhoff 3). Total fouls-Macalester College 26, Concordia College 19. A-306