by FREMONT, Neb. – Midland University returned to action on Wednesday night as they hosted Concordia University in a Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) game on its home court. The Bulldogs used their skilled shooting to sprint past the Warriors, winning 104-68 in front of a great crowd inside the Wikert Event Center.
The Bulldogs opened the contest, applying pressure on the Warriors with a 13-2 run. Derek Merwick started the momentum in the Warriors to go on a 9-3 run to lessen the gap. The teams began to trade points back and forth heading into the final five minutes, with the Warriors trailing by 10.
Concordia continued to turn up the heat with three straight three-pointers and a pair of free throws for an 11-0 run. Midland continued to battle, responding with a 9-5 run. Heading into the break, the Warriors trailed 54-39.
After the intermission, Concordia started off with a three-pointer. After a free throw by Jake Rueschhoff, Ryan Larsen responded with a three-pointer but the Bulldogs fired back with a 16-6 run to widen the gap. Merwick, who had a big offensive night, sparked the Warriors with a three-pointer as they went on a 9-4 run to force a timeout from the Bulldogs’ bench.
The teams battled it out, matching each other’s points, for a while before a cold spell hit the Midland offense. Concordia pulled away with a 14-5 run to head into the final minutes with a 23-point lead, the largest of the contest. Midland closed on an 8-3 run to finish the game, 104-86.
Derek Merwick led the team with 30 points, his second 30-point game of the season. Ryan Larsen, who earned the starting spot, added 16, while Jeffrey Rozelle III finished with 14, and Jake Rueschhoff capped off the double-digit scorers with 11.
Merwick did a little bit of everything in 38 minutes of action. He pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds while dishing out 7 assists to finish 3 dimes short of a triple-double.
Concordia’s offense was red hot, shooting 62.1% (18-of-29) in the opening half and 58.2% (39-of-67) for the game. Midland was solid on the offensive end with a 49.3% (34-of-69) shooting night.
“They [Concordia] ran really good stuff. They play inside-out and have a really nice duo they use well,” commented head coach Tyler Erwin. “At halftime, we talked about how many good things we were doing offensively but we needed to stop trading baskets with them. We scored 86 points… we’ll take that every night, but I don’t think we ever put any pressure on them. We’ve got to be better, especially in our league.”
“I told our guys today, you’re never going to pitch a shutout,” added Coach Erwin. “It’s not going to be 86-0. We’ve got to do a better job on the ball. We’ve got to do a better job in transition. We’ve got to get some other guys to go. Whether that’s movement, grabbing an offensive rebound, or just some other production from our guys. It can’t come from one or two.”
