Broncos Come Out Hot, Hold Off Furious Comeback by Concordia
Hastings, NE – The Hastings College men’s basketball team put on an offensive clinic in the first half and then held on late to defeat Concordia 79-78 on Wednesday night inside Lynn Farrell Arena.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
37 | 41 | 78 |
|
|
46 | 33 | 79 |
Team Stats
Concordia (NE)
| Game Statistics | Concordia (NE) | Hastings |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (30-58) | (30-54) |
| Field Goal % | 51.7% | 55.6% |
| Rebounds | 27 | 33 |
| Assists | 5 | 11 |
| Turnovers | 7 | 9 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 11 | 8 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 5 | 9 |
| Pts in the Paint | 44 | 42 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 0 | 0 |
| Bench Pts | 33 | 7 |
Hastings, NE – The Hastings College men's basketball team put on an offensive clinic in the first half and then held on late to defeat Concordia 79-78 on Wednesday night inside Lynn Farrell Arena.
The clinic got started with a Reggie Thomas three as he would get fouled on the shot and make the free throw for the rare four-point play. Thomas got fouled shooting another three on the next possession as he drained all three free throws to make it 7-1. Danilo Matovic then got a free throw plus a layup as HC jumped out to a 10-1 lead. Matovic then got another layup to go as CUNE was forced to take a timeout to stop the bleeding.
The lead eventually jumped to 15 following a three from Anthony Thompson and a layup from Thomas as Concordia called another timeout. CUNE would work the lead down to nine at the break as the Broncos held a 46-37 lead.
Thomas finished the first half with 16 points while Tyrique McMurrin and Matovic each had 11 as CUNE was looking for answers. The Bulldogs decided to switch its defense to an extended 3-2 zone press and back into and extended 3-2 zone and it began to slow down the Bronco offense in the second half.
That slowed offensive output allowed CUNE to get to within one at 64-63 with 7:03 to go but McMurrin would get a layup to go plus the foul as he made the free throw to put HC up 67-63. But Concordia would eventually tie the game 69-69 but Thomas broke free and buried a three to go up 72-69 with 5:26 to go.
Neither team could find an answer offensively over the next two minutes until Thomas busted through the lane for a tough layup to go up 74-69 with 3:06 to go. It was at this time that Concordia decided to play 'hack a Shaq' with Matovic to try and get back into the game. Matovic would make a couple of free throws over a few possessions but Concordia would not get much offense as Hastings clunch to a 76-71 lead with under 2:00 to go.
After a free throw for CUNE and a missed three from Thomas, CUNE looked to close the gap but Thomas jumped in front of the Noah Schutte pass and would get fouled. He made both free throws as the Broncos were up 78-72 with 1:06 to go.
Concordia would get an and one from Tristan Smith to make it 78-75 and with Quinn Johnson missing a three, the Bulldogs had a chance to get within one or tie the game. Lukas Helms would attack the rack and get the layup to go plus the foul as he made the free throw to tie the game 78-78 with :14 to go.
With time running out, Thomas attacked the rack drawing a triple team and dropped a nice pass off to a cutting Johnson as he would get fouled going up for the layup with 3.1 on the clock. Johnson missed the first and after a CUNE timeout he calmly made the second for the one point lead.
The Bulldogs then threw a pass up to half court where Thompson knocked the ball away and as he tried to save it, the ball bounced on the sideline with 1.1 left on the clock and one more chance for CUNE. The Bulldogs got the ball into Schutte but Thomas made sure he had nowhere to go as he fell towards the sideline throwing up a shot that was nowhere near the basket as Hastings held on for the 79-78 victory.
Thomas led the way with 25 points as he was 8-of-18 from the floor, 3-of-7 from behind the arc and 6-for-6 from the line and pulled down nine rebounds. McMurrin just missed a double-double with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting and pulled down nine boards while Matovic finished with 19 points a she was 8-for-10 from the floor while pulling down eight boards.
Hastings finished the game shooting 55.6 percent (30-for-54) while CUNE shot 51.7 percent (30-for-58). The Broncos held the edge in rebounding 33-to-27 and neither team turned the ball over much combining for 16 turnovers.
Hastings is now 13-4 (8-1) on the year and will be back in action Saturday Jan. 20 as Dordt comes to town with tipoff set for 3:45 pm inside Lynn Farrell Arena.
