By
DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
MOORHEAD, Minn. — The first time the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team squared off against Concordia this season, the Cardinals collected a 71-64 win over the Cobbers — putting an end to a 27-game conference losing streak.
Wednesday evening, the two teams squared off again — and again the Cardinals were looking to put an end to a losing streak.
This time around, however, Concordia had other ideas, as the Cobbers raced out to a 14-point halftime lead — and held off a furious Cardinals second-half rally in dealing Saint Mary's its sixth straight loss, a 67-60 decision, at Memorial Auditorium.
Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) carried the brunt of the Cardinals' offensive attack early on, scoring 10 of Saint Mary's first 12 points, as Concordia clung to an 11-10 advantage midway through the first half.
Over those final 10 minutes, however, it was all Concordia.
The Cobbers scored 23 of the last 33 points — including the final seven — to take a 14-point, 34-20 lead into the locker room at the break.
Saint Mary's came out sizzling to open the second half, using a 9-0, half-opening run to cut the Cobber lead to five, 34-29. The Cardinals would continue to chip away at the CC lead, getting within two, 49-47 on a
Jacob Chilson (Eau Claire, Wis.) 3-pointer with 7:17 remaining in regulation.
Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Cardinals would get, as Concordia answered Chilson's 3-pointer by scoring 11 of the next 13 points to regain an 11-point, 60-49 lead with 1:55 on the clock.
The Cardinals got the lead down to six, 62-56 on a Cave basket, but the Cobbers drained five free throws down the stretch to seal the seven-point win.
Cave finished with a team-high 23 points for the Cardinals, going 10-for-18 from the field with one 3-pointer and a perfect 2-for-2 showing from the free throw line3. Chilson also finished in double figures for Saint Mary's, recording 15 points.
The Cardinals shot 36.7 percent from the field (22-for-60) — but could not find their touch from behind the arc, going just 3 of 26. Saint Mary's was a perfect 13-for-13 from the charity stripe.
Jordan Davis led three Cobbers in double figures, scoring 18 points, followed by Thomas Schyma (17) and Collin Larson (10).
The Cardinals (2-9 MIAC, 6-10 overall) are back in action on Saturday, traveling to St. Thomas' Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn.) for a 3 p.m. conference matchup against the 11th-ranked Tommies.
