1997-98 Concordia Men's Basketball | Schedule/Results | Roster | MIAC  Race | Box Scores | Stats |  History | Top | Home |  It was as close as it gets, but Macalester wins By Eric Peterson The Forum

Macalesterâs Evan Bass tries to stop Concordiaâs Alex Bjork by grabbing his arm as he goes after a loose ball during Monday nightâs game. Forum photo by Dave Wallis

It wasnât the final shot Macalester wanted, but it will take the result.

Freshman Evan Bass hit a spinning 15-foot jumper with one second left in overtime, helping the Scots edge Concordia 62-61 Monday in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference menâs basketball at Concordiaâs Memorial Auditorium.

"Thatâs what you get with a talented freshman," said Macalester coach Curt Kietzer. "He panicked, but bailed himself out with a tough shot."

Bassâ winning bucket was his only points of the game.

"We were trying to set up a play and it broke down," Bass said. "Nothing was there, so I had to shoot the ball and luckily it went in."

Concordia coach Duane Siverson said: "Give him credit, it was a tough shot."

The Cobbers took the lead 15 seconds earlier when Brian Kjesbo converted from the right block, giving Concordia a 61-60 edge. Macalester then raced the ball up court and ran the game-clock down before Bass hit the big shot.

Concordia did call timeout with 1 second left, allowing for one more chance at a victory. But Mike Wrobelâs 18-foot jumper from the right baseline, which went in, came after the final buzzer had sounded.

"This is a big win, given the state of our program" Kietzer said. "We only won two games last year (the Scots already have four wins this season). ... This is a big step up for us."

Concordia looked to have the game in hand at the end of regulation. Trevor Petersonâs leaning 3-point play with 32 seconds left gave the Cobbers a 56-53 advantage.

But Macalesterâs Doug Hoffert drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing with eight seconds left to force overtime.

"Thatâs the kind of thing he does," said Kietzer of Hoffert. "Weâre not surprised. Heâs only a sophomore and heâs done that two or three times in his career and once earlier this year."

Siverson said his team needed to know the situation better.

"We didnât close out and contest the shot," Siverson said. "We needed to take away the 3-pointer to win the basketball game and we didnât do that."

The Cobbers did get off to a good start, racing to a 22-9 lead with 4 minutes, 37 seconds left in the first half. Mike Wrobel capped the early surge, scoring from the right block.

Macalester, however, answered with a 14-0 run to get back into the game and claim a 23-22 advantage with 21 seconds left in the half.

Concordiaâs Brian Kesselring scored with three seconds left in the first half to give the Cobbers the halftime advantage.

"Their press really disrupted us," Kietzer said of his teamâs early offensive woes. "We needed to settle down and we did that at the end of the first half."

Macalester improved to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the MIAC, while the Cobbers fell to 2-7 and 1-4.

"Weâre just focused on getting better every game," Siverson said. "If we keep working and improve the way we have been, weâll have chances to win on the road. Thatâs something we havenât been able to do to this point."

MACALESTER (2-3, 4-4): Franca 0-0 0-0 0, Sader 7-12 5-5 19, Barnhorst 1-7 1-1 4, Errickson 0-4 0-0 0, Bass 1-3 0-1 2, Goodman 2-7 0-0 4, Jensen 2-4 0-0 6, Mahony 5-10 1-1 11, Hoffert 4-12 6-6 16. Totals 22-59 13-14 62.

CONCORDIA (1-4, 2-7): Benson 3-9 1-2 7, Bjork 1-3 3-6 5, Wishart 2-7 0-0 6, Peterson 2-6 1-1 5, Killoran 0-0 0-0 0, Kjesbo 4-6 0-0 8, Wrobel 3-8 0-0 6, Becker 2-4 3-6 7, Gillhouse 6-11 2-2 14, Kesselring 1-8 1-2 3. Totals 24-62 11-19 61.

Halftime: Concordia 24, Macalester 23. Regulation: 56. 3-point goals: Macalester 5-21 (Barnhorst 1-6, Bass 0-2, Goodman 0-2, Jensen 2-4, Mahony 0-1, Hoffert 2-6), Concordia 2-6 (Benson 0-1, Wishart 2-4, Gillhouse 0-1). Fouled out: Goodman. Rebounds: Macalester 35 (Sader 12), Concordia 43 (Becker 7). Steals: Macalester 3 (Three players with 1), Concordia 8 (Bjork 2, Wishart 2). Assists: Macalester 11 (Bass 3, Hoffert 3), Concordia 17 (Wishart 7). Total fouls: Macalester 19, Concordia 16. Turnovers: Macalester 13, Concordia 9.