The #24 Briar Cliff men’s basketball fell in their GPAC opener Saturday to RV Concordia in the Newman Flanagan Center. The Chargers fell behind early after a slow start offensively and were unable to mount a comeback.
“Concordia came out and played at high level from the start today,” said head coach Mark Svagera. “We didn’t match their level of intensity or execution. We need to be better moving forward and that starts with me and our preparation.”
The Bulldogs scored early and often, taking a 22-5 lead seven minutes into the contest. Facing their largest deficit of the first half, 12-34, the Chargers scored 10 in a row to cut the lead to 12 with 5:56 left in the half. Concordia would build their lead back up before halftime, taking a 48-27 lead into the break.
BC shot 35.5% from the field in the opening half, 33.3% from deep and did not attempt a free throw. Concordia held shooting splits of 56.3/41.7/87.5 after 20 minutes of play.
The Chargers outscored the Bulldogs 31-30 in the second half, but Concordia was able to keep the Cliff at bay with a 20-point lead throughout.
Jamison Helmers and Nick Hoyt had five points in the second half, followed by Nathan Hall’s four and Blake Sindelar’s three points. Sindelar totaled six rebounds in his 10 minutes of action.
Conner Groves had a team-high 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Hoyt and Matthew Stilwill had eight points apiece. The Chargers shot 37.7% from the field and were 7-for-27 from deep.
The Chargers will look to bounce back Wednesday night in Yankton, South Dakota against Mount Marty.
With key contributions from several members of the Briar Cliff women’s basketball team, the Chargers downed Concordia 87-76 in their first GPAC game of the season.
The Cliff received a pair of 20-point performances from Kennedy Benne and Konnor Sudmann. The duo also combined for 13 rebounds and were 15-for-27 from the field.
Payton Slaughter continues to stuff the stat sheet and recorded her first double-double of the season with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Slaughter was 5-for-9 from the field and 4-for-6 from deep.
Madelyn Deitchler grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, as the Chargers dominated the boards 43-27. Deitchler added 11 points in her first double-double.
The Chargers raced out to a 19-8 first quarter lead behind solid play on both ends of the floor. BC shot 61.5% and were 2-for-3 from deep and had six players score in the first 10 minutes. On the opposite end, the Cliff held Concordia to 3-of-17 shooting.
Briar Cliff won the second quarter, 21-19, and held a 13-point lead at the halftime intermission. Concordia cut the lead to six with 6:38 left in the half, but an 8-0 run pushed the Charger lead back up to 14.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Slaughter and Sudmann midway through the third quarter gave the Cliff their largest lead of the night, 50-32. However, the Bulldogs wouldn’t go away, cutting the lead to 59-49 heading into the final quarter.
Looking to close out the first conference win of the year, the Chargers put up 28 points in the final 10 minutes. Benne was nearly perfect down the stretch, scoring 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting with one trey and went 2-for-3 from the free throw line. Sudmann and Peyton Wingert chipped in six and five, respectively in the fourth.
The Chargers iced the game at the line late, going 9-for-11 from the charity stripe over the last four minutes of game time.
Benne finished with 23 points to lead the Cliff with seven rebounds and three steals. Sudmann totaled 21 points and six boards. Wingert had seven points and Cadence Davis added five.
The Chargers will look for their fifth win in a row Wednesday night against Mount Marty in Yankton, South Dakota.
