ST. PAUL, MINN. - UMD men's basketball found itself come out on top 80-78 on Friday in what was a true road battle with Concordia-St. Paul. With the win, the Bulldogs' overall record moves to 11-4. The team's in-conference mark improves to 7-2.
Despite the fact that these two teams would go on to score 158 combined points in this one, things started a little slow. By the 13:57 mark, the score was just 9-8 UMD, with Jared Perry having scored for the Golden Bears to bring them within a point. That's when the trajectory of this game would completely change- and it was Lincoln Meister that moved the needle. The forward drove into the paint and sank a tough layup through contact, eventually capping off a huge three-point play. That gave the Bulldogs their first two-score lead - the first of the entire game, actually- at a score of 14-8 with 13:16 left. For the vast majority of the rest of the first half, UMD was in the driver's seat. Its lead grew to as high as seven when a Charlie Katona layup left the score at 18-11 with 11:39 remaining. However, oftentimes the Bulldog's led only by a single score, the Golden Bears keeping themselves right within striking distances. Still, the Bulldogs continued to re-fortify their lead in spite of the continued pressure. UMD eventually had a five-point lead at 29-24 with just 4:46 remaining to show for its efforts.
That's when Concordia's Roy Grisby sank his second three of the game to make it 29-27 with 3:42 left. Grisby came into this game 2-12 from beyond the arc on the entire season, a 16.7% shooting percentage. He was 2-2 to this point. Oh well- two free-throw makes from Joshua Brown quickly put UMD's lead back up to two scores at 31-27. Then, with 3:15 left, it was Grisby… from three-point-land… again. Make it 3-3, and cut UMD's lead back down to a score at 31-30 with 3:15 in the half.
Scoring cooled on both sides for just over a minute. That's just a generality, though-a distinction that becomes important when you learn that Grisby broke the temporary stalemate with yet another three-ball. Just like that? Concordia held its first lead since the score was 3-2, up 33-31 with just 2:10 left in the half.
To score 12 points in a half is solid. To do it on 4-4 shooting from deep alone is quite impressive. There are hardly any words to describe what it meant for this result to have been calculated by the formula that was Grisby. Just when you think it's possible to have a pulse on what will occur in any sporting event based on black-and-white numbers alone, a 6-9 forward from Superior, Colo. is on hand to prove you wrong.
The Golden Bears would do well by Grisby, seeing to it that the lead he'd been so monumental in building lasted into the break. Not only that, but Concordia was able to build upon it a touch. The team used the remaining two minutes and change to amass its own two-possession advantage, the first it'd held all game, at a score of 40-34 by the half's end.
Grisby and his 12 points didn't even lead Concordia at the break- that honor belonged to Antwan Kimmons. The Golden Bears' leading scorer for the season heading into Friday had scored 13 on 4-7 (57.1%) shooting from the field to pair with an impressive seven assists. Kimmons and Grisby shared the title of Concordia's leading rebounder this half, each grabbing five boards. As a team, the Golden Bears shot 7-13 from beyond the arc, a number Grisby did good work in establishing.
UMD's scoring attack had been much more dispersed in the first frame. Austin Andrews led the charge, scoring nine points on efficient 3-4 shooting. Brown was another notable contributor, as the junior guard paired seven points with a team-leading four rebounds.
It'd have to be all hands on deck once again for the Bulldogs if they wanted to get back into this one out of the break. It didn't happen right away- Concordia was able to bolster its lead to as high as eight off of a Grisby two-pointer to leave the score at 44-36 with 18:32 left. But just as quickly as the Golden Bears had added to their advantage- faster, actually- the Bulldogs were able to totally tear it apart.
Katona sank a layup to make it 44-38. Middleton sank a trifecta of free throws after getting fouled beyond the arc to suddenly bring his team to within a score. Speaking of Middleton and free throws… there was something to that formula here in the early goings of the second half. Much like Meister before him back in the first, Middleton was able to sink a layup despite getting hammered while in the air, giving him the chance to tie the game up for his team at the stripe. He'd go on to do just that. The score was 44-44 with 17:15 remaining. It had taken UMD exactly one minute and 16 seconds to shed through what was a near double-digit advantage. Not a bad pace.
And about 40 seconds later, Drew Blair finished the job. The redshirt-senior guard sank a huge three to grant the Bulldogs their first advantage of the second half at 47-46.
Of course, it's never that easy in the NSIC. Jacob Everson drained a shot of his own from deep out of a media timeout to give his Golden Bears the lead once again at 49-47 with 16:12 left. All UMD could do was continue to battle, and battle they did. It would take some time for the Bulldogs to regain a lead of their own, but in the interim, they never allowed Concordia to establish a lead of more than two points. At several points, things were all knotted up. Take the 9:18 mark, for example, which found the score at 55-55. So funny we should land on that point… it's the last time the game would be tied.
Enter UMD's Joshua Strong. The sophomore guard would find himself with an impressive statline by the half's end, but he made perhaps no bigger shot in the game than the one in-question. A pull-up jumper from Strong found the net at the 8:08 mark to give the Bulldogs control once again. This time, they'd take good care not to lose it so quickly- in fact, they wouldn't lose it the rest of the game.
How'd UMD pull that off? Well, it's time to bring another Joshua into the fold: last name Brown. Brown had actually been the one to even the score at 55 earlier with a second-chance layup. At that point, he had nine points to his name on the game. It wouldn't be like that for long.
At the 6:20 mark, a Brown three-ball extended UMD's lead to five at 63-58. Shooters shoot- not even a minute later, Brown sank yet another bucket from deep to push the advantage to eight. Kimmons would respond with a floater to bring Concordia back to within six at 66-60 with 5:18 left in the game. But you seem to have forgotten- shooters shoot. A hair over 30 seconds later… Brown, three-ball, boom. 69-60 UMD. Make that nine-straight points for the junior guard, 18 for the night.
This would be the end of Brown's solo streak, but what a streak it had been. The Bulldogs were able to build upon it by pushing their lead to as high as 10 off of a Strong free-throw to make it 72-62 with just 4:07 on the clock. That's not to say that Brown was done scoring altogether, though- not a chance. He'd make himself known once again not too long after this point with yet another three to keep UMD's lead at eight at 75-67 with a mere 2:11 left in the contest.
Just over a minute later at the 1:04 mark, Katona sank a layup (assist from, who else, Brown) to give the Bulldogs a two-score lead at 77-71. It seemed like the end was in sight, that UMD would be able to get out of St. Paul with a win after a massive comeback bid down the stretch.
Not so fast.
It took Marcus Skeete 11 seconds to put in a layup to bring Concordia back to within four. Skeete would follow this by fouling Strong to extend the game. Strong would go 1-2 from the stripe, pushing the Bulldogs' lead to five with only 33 ticks left. But Kimmons needed just six of those to score on the other end, the score suddenly 78-75 UMD with plenty of runway left for the Golden Bears to work with.
Again, Concordia was forced to play the foul game. It's one the perpetrator rarely wins…but sometimes, it happens. Strong missed both of his attempts from the charity stripe, failing to provide itself with a two-score cushion. Up three with seven ticks left, UMD decided it was its turn to foul, stripping Concordia of a chance to go for the tie. But E Elniel sinking each of his free throws still brought the game to within a point at 78-77 Bulldogs. What happened next was a real rollercoaster- on Brown's ensuing trip to the line with just six seconds remaining, UMD again came up empty. With defensive board here, and Concordia had a chance to do a little more than just tie. We'll never know how that reality might have worked itself out- Blair had different plans. The guard grabbed a massive rebound off the second miss. And when he got fouled right after, he was sure to ease some tension for UMD at the line, pushing the team's lead to three at 80-77 with 4 seconds left.
With exactly 1 tick left on the clock, UMD would again play the role of fouler to limit Concordia's possible scoring result. This time, that plan went about as well as it could have. Kimmons made his first attempt at the stripe but missed the second, the ball trickling out of bounds. And though UMD would have to inbound the ball one more time to clear the clock, no miracle would transpire for the Golden Bears in St. Paul. The Bulldogs escaped with a ginormous 80-78 victory.
What a second half it was for Brown, who closed with 14 points on 5-5 shooting from the field in 15:58 of action. Middleton and Strong each had eight points on efficient shooting splits of their own (2-2 and 3-5 respectively). Strong paired his scoring with four rebounds, leading his team in that department for the half.
As a team, the Bulldogs were nearly unstoppable from the field in the final 20. UMD shot a whopping 15-21 (71.4%) in the second half, 5-10 from three. But for all this talk about their shooting, the Bulldogs' defense came through, too. Concordia went from gashing UMD from beyond the arc with 7-13 (53.8%) shooting in the first half to going just 3-8 (37.5%) in the second.
Brown's monster performance down the stretch crowned him the team's leading scorer of the game, the guard finishing with a season-high 21 points on 7-11 (63.6%) shooting from the field and 5-8 (62.5%) shooting from deep. Andrews and Strong each had 13 on the night while going 5-6 and 4-6 from the field respectively. Each also had four boards. Strong also had two steals and a team-leading four assists. That's a moniker he shared with Katona, who also closed with 4 dimes. Katona also rounded out UMD's double-digit scorers with 11 points. The junior forward also had four boards. Blair led all Bulldogs on the night with five rebounds.
Concordia was led by Kimmons, who closed with a game-high of 24 points on 9-16 shooting. He also tallied nine assists. Marcus Skeete ended the game with a double-double of 11 points and 10 boards.
WORDS FROM WIECK
There's plenty to say about what UMD was able to accomplish on the offensive end in the second half, but first, a word about its defense.
As previously mentioned, Concordia's early outburst of threes had been something of a nightmare for the Bulldogs in the first half. But rather than throwing its hands up and conceding to the reality of the Golden Bears simply having one of those nights from three-point land, UMD strapped in and did something about it. The fruits of the team's labor could be seen throughout the second half.
UMD head coach Justin Wieck chalked this difference between halves up to his team both making some tweaks at the break and simply better adhering to the game plan it had already walked into Friday with.
"We made a ball screen adjustment at halftime that really helped us take away some of their 3's," Wieck said. "We talked all week about staying out on shooters, but they got loose in the first half. Our guys made a good adjustment."
So, about that offense…
Conversation about what transpired in the second half for the Bulldogs from a pure scoring perspective has to start with Brown. Wieck homes that the guard's huge performance is simply a sign of things to come for him the rest of the year.
"JB hit some big shots for us when we needed it most tonight," Wieck said. "He has really played and practiced well coming out of break. When he gets rolling, he's one of the best in our league. Hopefully tonight serves as a spark for a big second half for him."
Ultimately, Wieck thinks a similar conversation can be had about the team at-large.
After every game this season, win or lose, Wieck has stood by his squad, echoing his sentiments that these guys are capable of being among the best in the NSIC- and beyond. That second half on Friday gave you a sense for what he's talking about. If the team can bottle that up and keep it on-tap for the second part of the season… watch out.
"I think you saw what our team is capable of in the second half," Wieck said. "When the ball is moving, extra passes, better screens, we can really score the ball. We're searching for an identify offensively still. Hopefully tonight will be the spark we need."
