FAYETTE, Iowa – The Concordia University men's basketball team (5-5, 1-3 NSIC) fell to Upper Iowa (7-3, 3-2 NSIC) on Saturday night. The Peacocks hit 12-29 from beyond the arc in the win.
Upper Iowa finished the same way they started the game as they hit a barrage of threes to knock off the Golden Bears. UIU shot 41.4% from three and 44.1% from the floor (26-59) for the game as Concordia was bitten by the deep ball for the second consecutive night.
The Golden Bears actually shot better from the floor than the Peacocks as they hit 45.2% of their shots (28-62) but connected on just 33.3% from three (5-15).
UIU controlled the glass early in the game but finished with just a 39-34 advantage in that category as CU asserted their physicality as the game went on.
Bench scoring proved to be a difference-maker as Upper Iowa was able to get 34 points out of their non-starters while Concordia got 18.
Cole Olstad and
Keith Crockett led the way offensively for the Golden Bears as Olstad finished with 16 points and Crockett chipped in 15. Olstad hit 4-10 from the field and 7-8 from the charity stripe along with five boards while Crockett was a more efficient 6-9 from the floor and grabbed three rebounds.
Nuni Omot fell a basket short of a double-double with eight points on 4-8 shooting and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes before fouling out.
Jon Sobaski made his return after missing the previous eight games due to injury and provided eight points off the bench for Concordia. The freshman hit 3-7 and 2-4 from beyond the arc in the loss.
Grant Lang had a near-perfect night for the Peacocks as he hit 5-6 from the floor, 4-5 from three and 4-4 from the free throw line to lead UIU with 18 points. He also added five assists and four rebounds in the win.
Bo Pagel and Jordan Hay were the only other Peacocks in double figures as each finished with 14 points.
Josh Weeber and Luke Lenhart also connected with three three-pointers each as they both finished with nine points.
The Peacocks came out on fire as they connected on five of their first six three point attempts to build a 23-8 lead at the 10:36 mark of the first half. UIU continued to grow the lead as they pushed it to 16 at 28-12 but the Golden Bears wouldn't go away.
Sobaski helped spark a comeback with eight points in a six minute stretch, including a pair of threes, as Concordia used a 16-3 run to shrink the deficit down to three at 31-28. The two teams traded a few buckets down the stretch as Upper Iowa took a 35-30 lead into the half.
Concordia carried the momentum of the late run in the first half into the second half as they scored 12 of the first 14 points to take a 42-37 lead. The two teams went back and forth for several possessions as CU still held a three point lead at 54-51 with 9:45 to play. Upper Iowa regained control with a 6-0 run and they would not trail the rest of the way.
After the Golden Bears tied it back up at 59 with 7:21 remaining, the Peacocks strung together a 20-7 run over the next five minutes to build a 13 point lead at 79-66. Concordia cut the lead back to single digits at 79-70 but they were unable to get back in it as UIU closed out the 86-74 win.
Concordia returns to the Gangelhoff Center on Saturday at 4 p.m. as they host Minnesota State in their final game before the New Year.
