LINCOLN, Neb. (11/26/11)-- Concordia watched as Luther scored the final five points in their game at Nebraska Weslyan to come away with a 64-61 in the third game of the Snyder Classic. The Cobbers took a 61-59 lead with 1:11 to play but then the Norse connected on a layup and finally a 3-point field goal that fell through the net as the buzzer sounded to earn the 3-point win.

The loss is the third straight for Concordia. CC is now 1-3 on the year. Luther improves to 3-1 on the season.

The game came down to a streak of runs in the second half. After the Cobbers erased a seven-point deficit with an 8-2 run at the end of the first half, the teams took turns taking multiple-point leads only to have the other squad roar back to take a lead of their own. CC went up by six at 38-32 with 14:03 to play in the second period only to have the Norse respond and grab a six-point lead of their own at 50-44 with 6:15 left. Concordia then turned the table again and scratched their way to a four-point lead at 58-54 with 3:16 left in the second half. The Cobbers held on to the lead until the final 1:11 of play when Dane Larson made a layup to tie the game at 61-61 and then Tim Merritt drained the game-winning 3-pointer as time expired. To add lemon juice to the paper cut, the 3-point field goal was Merritt's only basket of the night.

All told there were four lead changes and four tied scores in the second half.

Aaron Lindahl led Concordia in scoring for the second straight game. He had 13 points and added three assists. He was 6-for-6 from the free throw line for the game and finished the tournament by going 17-for-18  (94.4%) from the charity stripe. Lindahl averaged 14.0 points per game for the two games at the Snyder Classic and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Point guard Dewon McKenzie had 11 points and was 4-for-9 from the floor. Jason Huus was held to nine points but recorded a game-high 13 rebounds.

Less than 24 hours after not making a single 3-point field goal against host Nebraska Wesleyan, the Cobbers were 7-from-15 from behind the arc. 

Luther had three players in double figures in scoring for the game and was led by Larson who came away with a game-high 21 points after going 9-for-14 from the floor. John Androus picked up a double-double as he came away with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Center Tyler Wedemeir had 14 points and four blocks. 

Concordia will now open up conference play when they play at Macalester on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 7:45 p.m.


Snyder Classic All-Tournament
Concordia – Aaron Lindahl
Webster – Dietrick Sooter
Luther - John Androus, Dane Larson
Neb. Wesleyan - Jonah Bradley, Nick Dinan

Tournament MVP - Nick Dinan (Neb. Wesleyan)