by Vic Quick
Sports writer
It was an early season shootout on Wednesday night as last year's conference champions, St. Thomas, paid a visit to the Memorial Auditorium. The Tommies brought in a 29 game conference winning streak with them, but the Cobbers did not seem terribly impressed as they manhandled St. Thomas from start to finish. When the final horn sounded, Concordia walked off the court with a shocking 76-53 victory. The victory may of been a bit tainted, however, as junior guard and last season's MIAC MVP Karnell James did not play due to a sprained ankle that he suffered against St. John's on Saturday night.
Concordia managed some breathing room when they went on an 11-0 run halfway through the 1st half. After the run, the Cobbers never looked back and by the half they had amassed a 41-23 lead. Senior Jason Sorenson had 13 of his 16 points before the break.
He is one player who has stepped his game up a notch since last year. Going into Wednesday night's game, he is averaging 15 points per game, along with his teammate Damien Crump.
Crump, a junior, managed to pour in 20 points of his own as well as grabbing 12 rebounds against the Tommies.
Kenny Nelson had another sensational night as he scored 13 points, blocked five shots, and pulled down six rebounds .Concordia out-rebounded the Tommies by a count of 42-27.
The win shows that Concordia can play with the big boys of the MIAC. Coach Doug Siverson said, "the game was a real confidence booster to our team." He contributed a large part of the win to the intensity that the team showed on defense. However, he was disappointed with his team's patience on offense. He also added that he believes that his team can play better than tonight. That may be a scary thought to the other team's of the MIAC.
The win runs Concordia's overall record to 4-0 and their conference record to 2-0. This was certainly a big win for the Cobbers. But one of the most important things was that they proved to themselves that they can indeed play with anyone in their conference. It also shows that St. Thomas is not invincible. The confidence that Concordia has gained from this win could be immeasurable as the season wears on.
However, confidence only lasts as long as your next game. And, that game will be Saturday afternoon at Gustavus. After they travel to Gustavus, the Cobs will next be home on Monday night to face Moorhead State. After the MSU game, Concordia will have a 20 day layoff before they travel to Jamestown on January 2nd. Many people didn't feel that Concordia could play with the big boys of the MIAC, but tonight they proved that they can play with anybody.
Men's Basketball
Most Recent Update
Return to December 8, 1995 issue
Return to The Concordian Sports Home Page
This page is maintained by The Concordian and Colin Beltz '96 concordian@www.cord.edu
Return to Cobber Sports Home Page 
Return to Concordia Home Page