DES MOINES, Iowa – The Concordia Golden Bears men's basketball team wrapped up the exhibition season with a hard fought 81-75 road loss at Division I Drake on Saturday evening. CSP had five different players score in double figures as they nearly pulled off the upset.
The team gave the Bulldogs all they could handle in their exhibition finale as they connected on 45.0% (27-60) from the floor while holding Drake to 38.7% (24-62) shooting. The Golden Bears connected on a solid clip from deep as they hit 43.5% (10-23) from beyond the arc while also knocking down an efficient 84.6% (11-13) from the free throw line. Drake took advantage of their frequent trips to the free throw line as they hit 27 free throws on 33 attempts (81.8%) to aid their effort.
It was a balanced attack for the Golden Bears as five players scored at least 10 points and nine different players registered at least four points.
For the second game in a row,
Bryndan Matthews led the way as he finished with 13 points on 5-10 shooting as he also chipped in a team-best eight boards and five assists in 29 minutes.
Diallo Powell and
Matt Ambriz followed close behind with 11 points while
Ahmad Newsome and
Max Keefe each contributed 10 points as CSP got production from both their starting lineup and the bench. Newsome had an efficient night as he hit 5-7 shots to go along with six boards while Ambriz and Keefe each buried three three-pointers for Concordia.
The duo of Billy Wampler and Reed Timmer carried the load for the Bulldogs as Wampler led all players with 22 points and Timmer added 20 points in the win. Both players hit six shots from the floor and seven free throws on the night.
It took the Golden Bears a bit to get their feet under them as the Bulldogs built an early 16-4 lead midway through the opening half following a quick 11-0 run spanning less than three minutes. CSP responded with a 7-0 run of their own as they spent much of the rest of the half closing the gap. After the Drake lead returned to double figures at 26-16, the Golden Bears used an extended 16-7 run to pull within one at 33-32. Drake closed out the half with a pair of buckets to make it 37-32 heading to the break.
CSP came out firing in the second half as they quickly tied it up at 37-37 and took their first lead of the day a few minutes later at 45-44. The lead went back and forth from there as the game featured five ties and five lead changes over the next six minutes before Concordia extended their lead to its largest of the day at 65-61 with 8:02 left to play. The Bulldogs turned it on from there with nine straight points to match their largest lead of the half at 70-65 with 4:34 to take the lead for good. A Powell three cut it back to two, but that would be all the closer they would get as Drake iced the game at the free throw line to close out the 81-75 and finish off Concordia's exhibition season.
The Golden Bears open up regular season play next weekend as they travel to Puerto Rico for games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in non-conference action.
