MOORHEAD, Minn. – The No. 5-seeded Carleton College men's basketball team was bounced from the MIAC Playoffs by the No. 4 seed Concordia College-Moorhead, falling 74-52 in a quarterfinal matchup.
Carleton (15-11, 11-5 MIAC) made the conference postseason for the fifth consecutive year despite lacking any seniors on the roster. The Knights concluded the regular season with the same league record as the eventual No. 2 seed, but tiebreakers consigned them to a first-round road trip. The Cobbers (20-6, 11-5 MIAC) tied their program wins record with the triumph, and won their first playoff game since 2004.
A trio of Knights reached double figures.
Josh Engelberg and
Matt Drake scored 13 points apiece. Engelberg contributed three assists and two steals.
Sam Koelling scored 13 points on 3-for-6 shooting from 3-point range.
Omar Kaba made both of his field goals, garnered a team-best six rebounds, and blocked a shot.
Tobias Averill chipped in five points, three assists, and two steals, while
Patrick Smith accounted for the other four points.
The teams split the regular-season meetings, with both sides claiming a narrow home win on the team's final shot of the game. This one did not follow the same script.
Koelling splashed a three to get things started, and Carleton held Concordia scoreless for the first three minutes of action. A Kaba putback jam concluded a 10-2 opening run for the Knights at the 15:51 mark. Concordia fought back with a 12-3 surge, gaining its first lead with 12:15 to go in the stanza. Soon after, the hosts strung together 12 unanswered points to gain a 31-20 advantage with 5:06 left in the half. Concordia held its edge, but Koelling hit a late three to cut the Cobber lead to 36-27 at the break.
Carleton started the second half with an 8-2 burst including triples by Drake and Koelling and layup by Engelberg, whittling Concordia's lead to 38-35 with 17:13 still to play in the game. The Knights pulled to within 50-44 when Drake knocked down a jumper with 9:31 remaining in the contest, but the Cobbers responded with an 11-0 run and outscored Carleton 24-8 over the final quarter of the game to cut the Knights' fifth consecutive playoff run short.
Carleton made 4-of its first-7 shots but finished with a 33.9 percent shooting mark. The Knights were slightly better from deep, making 37.5 percent of their 3-pointers (9-for-24).
Concordia-Moorhead's big men carried the day for the Cobbers. Jacob Cook scored 26 points and amassed 14 rebounds. Jackson Loge registered another double-double with 20 points and 15 boards. The pair helped the hosts shoot 50.8 percent from the field, win the rebound battle 41-29, and tally 52 paint points. The Cobbers took just 10 threes, making three (30.0 percent). The team hit 11-of-15 free throws (73.3 percent) and had a 17-to-6 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Concordia will travel to No. 2 seed Saint John's in the semifinals on Thursday.
