1997-98 Concordia Men's Basketball
St. Thomas men beat Concordia
The Tommies closed the first half on a 14-2 run to build a double-digit halftime lead. The Cobbers never recovered, falling 85-69 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference menās basketball at Concordiaās Memorial Auditorium.
"We played really good perimeter defense for the first 17½ minutes of the first half," said Concordia coach Duane Siverson. "We started getting too much into the lane and giving up easy 3s."
St. Thomas reserve Andy Pilon took advantage of the openings left by the Cobbers on the perimeter, nailing a pair of 3-pointers in the last minute of the first half. Pilonās 25-footer from the top of the key with one second remaining staked the Tommies to a 44-33 halftime lead.
"We got kind of lucky a guy came in and hit two 3s," said St. Thomas coach Steve Fritz. "It was nip and tuck until that point, and I think (Concordia) was starting to play with a little confidence."
The Tommies took advantage of their late first-half surge, maintaining the momentum to start the second half. St. Thomas started the last 20 minutes on a 19-7 surge and cruised from there.
Sean Stephens capped the second-half spree, connecting on a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 12:27 left in the game. St. Thomas led 63-40.
"We started to play in more of a rhythm offensively," Fritz said. "We started to play with a lot more confidence."
While it was St. Thomasā outside shooting that blew open the game at the end of the first half, it was the inside play of Tommy Fritz that buried the Cobbers. The 6-foot-6 senior center scored a career-high 20 points (10 in each half) and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
Fritz entered the game averaging only 6.6 points per contest.
"He was the difference in the game for them tonight," Siverson said. "He was tough. He was the best post player on the floor tonight."
Fritz connected on 10 of 14 shots from the field and seven of his rebounds were on the offensive boards.
"It was fun to see him get that many points," said Steve Fritz. "We usually rely on him to rebound and play defense. Heās been an unsung hero for us."
ST. THOMAS (7-4, 3-4): Mulheran 0-4 2-4 2, Badertscher 0-0 0-0 0, Stephens 3-6 0-0 8, Pilon 3-5 0-0 9, Buri 4-10 0-0 10, Schlagel 1-4 1-2 3, Wilfahrt 0-0 0-0 0, Arnold 3-4 3-4 10, Devine 1-1 0-2 2, Hahs 4-5 0-0 8, Fritz 10-14 0-0 20, Sparby 4-8 0-0 11, Swanson 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 33-62 8-14 85.
CONCORDIA (2-9, 1-6): Parks 0-0 2-2 2, Benson 3-7 2-2 9, Bjork 5-9 1-1 11, Peterson 3-10 3-3 11, Killoran 0-0 0-0 0, Kjesbo 1-2 1-2 3, Wrobel 8-14 0-0 17, Gillhouse 3-8 0-0 7, Kesselring 3-8 3-4 9, Jess 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-60 12-14 69.
Halftime: ST 44, CC 33. 3-point goals: ST 11-23 (Mulheran 0-2, Stephens 2-4, Pilon 3-4, Buri 2-4, Schlagel 0-2, Arnold 1-1, Sparby 3-6); CC 5-10 (Benson 1-2, Bjork 0-1, Peterson 2-5, Wrobel 1-1, Gillhouse 1-1). Rebounds: ST 40 (Fritz 12), CC 28 (Wrobel 7). Steals: ST 5 (Schlagel 2), CC 4 (Four players with 1). Assists: ST 19 (Buri 6), CC 13 (Kjesbo 4). Total fouls: ST 14, CC 16. Turnovers: ST 12, CC 10.