But in the end, it wasnāt the Johnniesā torrid shooting that did in the Cobbers. It was a simple fundamental ö boxing out.
The Johnniesā Nate Guetter secured two key offensive rebounds in the last 30 seconds of the game to hold off Concordia. St. Johnās walked away with a 77-71 victory in both teamsā Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference menās basketball opener.
"Down the stretch we didnāt do the little things," said Concordia coach Duane Siverson. "They got those two offensive rebounds at the end. It showed a little bit of our inexperience. I told the guys in the huddle ĪWeāve got to get the rebound, weāve got to get the rebound.ā We had two guys stand there and watch."
Guetter, however, wasnāt about to sit back and watch.
The 6-foot-4 junior grabbed his first key rebound with St. Johnās holding a 73-71 edge with 27 seconds to play after Troy Bigalke missed his second free throw attempt. Guetter missed the putback try, but it kept the ball alive. The ball was eventually awarded to St. Johnās after the ball was batted out of bounds.
The Johnnies then inbounded the ball from underneath their own basket with 25 seconds remaining. Martin Klinkhammer was immediately fouled by the Cobbers and went to the line for the two-shot bonus with 23 seconds left. Klinkhammer made his first attempt, before missing his second. St. Johnās led 74-71 at that point.
Guetter found himself in the right place again, securing Klinkhammerās miss. This time Guetter drew a foul, hitting two free throws to put the game away.
"They rebounded real well off their free throws," said Concordia senior Jim Gillhouse. "They crossed on the free throws and caught us twice in a row. Thatās what killed us."
St. Johnās marksmenship from the field also hurt Concordia. The Johnnies hit 50 percent (26 of 52) their shots for the game, including 60 percent (12 of 20) from beyond the 3-point arc.
"Thatās unusual," said St. Johnās coach Jim Smith. "We usually donāt rely on the 3-point shot that much. Iām happy when they go in, but they usually kill you when they miss."
Guetterās offensive board work spoiled Concordiaās strong comeback bid. The Cobbers trailed 45-30 at halftime and looked on the verge of being put away. But Concordia rattled off the first 11 points of the second half to get back into the game.
Freshman Mike Wrobel led Concordiaās quick second-half start, scoring six points during the run. Alex Bjorkās foul shot with 15:51 left in the game capped the surge and cut the Johnniesā advantage to 45-41.
"I was worried they were going to come back," said St. Johnās coach Jim Smith. "When things come easy like they did for us in the first half, you always worry about the second half."
Wrobel created most of Smithās headaches in the last 20 minutes. The 6-foot-6 forward scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half. Gillhouse also aided in the Cobbersā comeback, scoring 10 of his 21 points in the second half.
But Wrobelās and Gillhouseās efforts went for not as the Johnnies held off the Cobbers, who were unable to claim the lead in the second half.
"Iām disappointed with the loss," Gillhouse said. "But Iām proud of the way everyone played. The young guys came out and played great. But it was a big disappointment to lose it at the end after making a big comeback."
The Johnniesā Steve Bates was the main reason Concordia had to make a huge comeback. The 6-foot-2 guard hit all eight of his shots in the first half, including six 3-pointers, to scored 22 of his game-high 29 points in the first 20 minutes. Bates finished with seven 3s.
"(Bates) shot out of his mind in the first half," Smith said. "Itās the best shooting heās done since heās been at St. Johnās."
(see also box score and game notes)
ST. JOHNāS (2-0, 1-0): McBroom 0-1 1-2 1, Linneman 0-0 0-0 0, Bugbee 0-2 0-0 0, Rothstein 6-10 0-0 16, Dusha 0-1 1-2 1, Klinkhammer 2-6 1-3 5, Bigalke 4-7 3-4 11, Guetter 4-9 3-3 12, Bates 9-12 4-6 29, Kresl 1-4 0-2 2. Totals 26-52 13-22 77.
CONCORDIA (1-4, 0-1): Parks 0-0 0-0 0, Benson 0-4 0-0 0, Bjork 3-6 4-7 10, Wishart 1-1 0-0 2, Peterson 4-7 0-0 10, Killoran 1-2 0-0 2, Kjesbo 3-5 0-2 6, Wrobel 9-13 2-3 20, Becker 0-1 0-0 0, Gillhouse 9-16 1-3 21, Kesselring 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-56 7-15 71.
Halftime: St. Johnās 45, Concordia 30. Total fouls: SJU 15, CC 20. Fouled out: Wrobel. 3-point goals: SJU 12-20 (Bugbee 0-1, Rothstein 4-6, Bigalke 0-1, Guetter 1-2, Bates 7-9, Kresl 0-2), CC 4-8 (Peterson 2-3, Killoran 0-1, Wrobel 0-1, Gillhouse 2-3). Rebounds: SJU 36 (Guetter 9), CC (Kjesbo 6, Wrobel 5). Steals: SJU 6 (Bigalke 3), CC 13 (Benson 5). Assists: SJU 11 (Bates 4), CC 19 (Benson 6). Turnovers: SJU 19, CC 12.
(see also box score and game notes)