Concordia hit 11 3-pointers including a big one in the final minute as the Bulldogs held off Nebraska Wesleyan 70-65 in the GPAC opener for the Prairie Wolves on Tuesday night (Nov. 22) at the Walz Complex in Seward, Neb.
With NWU trailing 65-62 the Bulldogs had possession of the ball. As the shot clock expired, Adam Vogt hit a deep 3-pointer for his seventh of the game to give the Bulldogs a six point advantage with 1:00 minute to play.
Andy Schweitzer answered for NWU as he nailed a 3-pointer with 0:52 left to pull NWU withing three points.
On the next trip down the floor Concordia missed a shot and Nick Dinan was fouled on the rebound attempt. Dinan missed the front end of a one and one and there was a made scramble on the rebound attempt. Concordia's Brent Houchin came out with the ball but he was pressured into throwing the ball away. Dinan stole the ball and found a wide open Mitch Liberty. Liberty's game-tying 3-pointer came up short with 0:05 left and the Bulldogs got the rebound and sealed the win with two free throws.
The game was tied eight different times as both teams battled hard at both ends of the floor.
NWU led by as many as eight points in the first half, and had a 32-30 lead at halftime. Concordia didn't lead in the second half until the 9:33 mark when Joel Haywood hit a 3-pointer.
The Prairie Wolves would regain the lead as Trevor Johnson hit back-to-back layups with six minutes to play, but that would be their last lead of the game.
It was the 3-point shooting of Concordia's Adam Vogt that was the story of the game. Vogt came off the bench to hit 7-9 from 3-point range for a game-high 21 points. Beau Smith had 19 points, while Houchin had 12 points.
The Bulldogs out rebounded the Prairie Wolves 30-21 and were a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line.
For NWU, Andy Schweitzer had a big game with 17 points, one shy of his career high. Schweitzer was 7-9 from the field and 3-5 from 3-point range. Trevor Johnson was also a force inside as he scored 13 points and had five rebounds with four assists. Eric Jackson also reached double figures with 10 points.
Nick Dinan only scored two points, but he had a big impact from his point guard spot with seven steals and four assists.
NWU will have their home opener this weekend when they host the 23rd Annual Snyder Classic.
