The Dordt Defender men's basketball team built a 13-point second half lead but was unable to hold off a late Concordia surge in a 66-60 loss to the Bulldogs in GPAC postseason play on Wednesday night in Seward, Nebraska.
Box Score (PDF)
Dordt carried a 27-23 lead into halftime and quickly extended its advantage when
Connor Millikan buried a three-pointer just 31 seconds into the second half for a 30-23 edge. Concordia briefly cut the margin to one at 30-29 with 17:12 remaining, but Dordt answered with one of its most efficient stretches of the night.
Ty Van Essen knocked down a three-pointer at the 16:41 mark,
Steven Poulicek followed with a layup at 16:11, and
Reed Friesen finished inside at 13:13 to stretch the lead to 39-31. Millikan added another three-pointer at 12:15 and Van Essen scored on a layup at 11:28, pushing the Defender advantage into double digits at 44-31.
Dordt continued to control the pace midway through the half and reached its largest lead of the night at 48-35 after
Judson Henkel converted a layup with 9:24 remaining. After a Peyton Brown three-pointer cut the margin to 48-38,
Dylon Schaap answered with a jumper at 8:29 to restore a 50-38 lead, keeping the Defenders comfortably in front with under nine minutes to play.
Concordia began its comeback with a layup by Brooks Kissinger at 7:45, trimming the deficit to 50-41, and Kissinger scored again at 6:53 to make it 50-43. Zac Kulus then buried a three-pointer at 6:17 to pull the Bulldogs within four at 50-46. Following a Dordt turnover, Kissinger converted another layup at 5:47, cutting the lead to 50-48 and completing an 10-0 run over a three-minute span.
Reed Friesen temporarily halted the run with a layup at 5:30, but Kulus responded with another three-pointer at 5:00 to make it 52-51. Friesen again answered inside at 4:36 for a 54-51 lead, but Concordia continued to chip away. Hayden Frank scored a layup at 4:27 to make it 54-53 and Jacob Duitsman gave Concordia its first lead of the half at 55-54 with 3:50 remaining.
Millikan briefly put Dordt back in front with a three-pointer at 3:40 for a 57-55 lead, but Kissinger answered with a tying basket at 3:19 to even the score at 57-57. Concordia closed the game by capitalizing on late possessions and defensive pressure to secure the six-point win after Dordt had led for much of the second half.
Van Essen led Dordt with 19 points and 11 rebounds while Millikan added 16 points with four three-pointers. Friesen contributed 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting night as Dordt shot 50 percent from the field in the second half but was undone by turnovers and Concordia's late offensive surge.
TEAM STATS
- Field Goals: Dordt 25-52 (48.1%) | Concordia 24-54 (44.4%)
- Three-Point Field Goals: Dordt 7-27 (25.9%) | Concordia 7-27 (25.9%)
- Free Throws: Dordt 3-3 (100%) | Concordia 11-17 (64.7%)
- Rebounds: Dordt 32 | Concordia 27
- Assists: Dordt 18 | Concordia 12
- Turnovers: Dordt 18 | Concordia 9
DORDT INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
