fieldhouse was a missed shot.
The Dragons pounded the Cobbers on the glass, grabbing 19 offensive rebounds, on their way to a 73-61 triumph in non-conference college men’s basketball.
"They really hurt us on the boards," said Concordia coach Duane Siverson. "We’re a better rebounding team than that and that really surprised me. But most of our players haven’t been in a game with this type of emotion and intensity."
Center Jeff Johnson led Moorhead State’s assault on the boards, grabbing four offensive rebounds, which produced six points. The 6-foot-8 junior finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.
"They’re not really big," said Moorhead State coach Dave Schellhase. "That probably had a lot to do with it."
The Dragons enjoyed a 47-33 rebounding edge for the game, allowing the Cobbers only five offensive boards.
Concordia, however, stayed right with Moorhead State into the second half despite its rebounding woes. A pair of free throws by Brian Kesselring with 13 minutes, 3 seconds left in the game cut the Dragons’ lead to 46-45.
"We knew they would be in the game," said Moorhead State guard Greg Duke, who paced his team with 17 points. "Whether they were down two or 20 they were going to play hard. I think we did a good job of not folding when they made a run."
But after Kesselring’s foul shots, Moorhead State’s Tunde Adelkan took over. The 6-foot-3 junior scored eight straight points to give the Dragons a nine-point cushion.
Strong defense was the key to Adelkan’s personal 8-0 surge. Two of his baskets were scored off Concordia turnovers. Adelkan’s bucket along the left baseline with 10:30 left capped the run.
Adelkan finished with 11 points and six rebounds off the bench.
"Tunde’s a very good athlete," Schellhase said. "He’s fast, he’s quick and he’s a good jumper. But he hasn’t had a lot of experience. He’s only played a couple years of organized basketball. He needs to play in games to get better and he is getting better."
Moorhead State’s defense turned the tide in the second half, limiting Concordia to only 34 percent (10 of 29) shooting from the field in the last 20 minutes. The Dragons also recorded 10 steals on the game.
"I’m really pleased with our defensive pressure in the second half," Schellhase said. "We applied a lot of pressure with our man-to-man defense and I think it wore them down."
Concordia used hot shooting in the first half to stay with the Dragons. The Cobbers hit on 54 percent (14 of 26) of their shots in the first. Senior James Gillhouse led the attack, scoring 12 points in the first 20 minutes. The 6-foot-3 forward from Ronan, Mont., finished with a game-high 23 points.
Moorhead State held a 36-33 edge at the halftime.
"Concordia played very well in the first half," Schellhase said. "I think it was a matter of what they did than what we didn’t do."
Trevor Peterson scored the Cobbers’ first five points of the second half to keep his team within striking distance. But Concordia was unable to keep pace after Adelkan’s scoring outburst.
"I’m proud of our kids," Siverson said. "We did the things we needed to do to beat them. We’re getting better."
Moorhead State improved to 2-2 overall with the triumph, while Concordia fell to 1-2.
"We’re happy with the win," Duke said. "But we realize we can play better. We missed a lot of easy shots and free throws. Once we start doing the little things right, we’ll be a pretty good ball team."
See Full Box Score | 1997-98 Cobber Men's Basketball |
MOORHEAD STATE (73): Green 2-8 0-2 4, Glasser 0-1 0-0 0, Macy 1-2 0-0 2, Duke 7-24 2-2 17, Hanson 2-6 1-3 7, Wiltrout 3-5 0-0 6, Tow 3-9 1-3 10, Adelkan 5-10 1-2 11, Johnson 7-9 2-3 16. Totals 32-75 7-16 73.
CONCORDIA (61): Benson 4-10 2-4 10, Wishart 2-3 0-0 5, Peterson 3-11 0-0 7, Kjesbo 1-1 0-1 2, Gillhouse 9-18 0-0 23, Kesselring 2-3 3-4 7, Malchow 0-0 1-3 1. Totals 24-55 5-16 61.
Halftime: Moorhead State 36, Concordia 33. Total fouls: Concordia 14, Moorhead State 15. 3-point goals: Moorhead State 2-17 (Green 0-2, Glasser 0-1, Macy 0-1, Duke 1-6, Tow 1-4, Adelkan 0-2), Concordia 5-16 (Benson 0-2, Wishart 1-2, Peterson 1-6, Wrobel 0-2, Gillhouse 3-4). Rebounds: Concordia 33 (Wrobel 9), Moorhead State 47 (Johnson 9). Steals: Concordia 11 (four tied with 2), Moorhead State 10 (Adelkan 4). Assists: Concordia 17 (Benson 8), Moorhead State 16 (Green 9). Turnovers: Concordia 16 (Becker 3, Kjesbo 3), Moorhead State 15 (Green 6). A–N/A.