Briar Cliff men's basketball fell behind early and was unable to mount a comeback as they dropped a 58-81 matchup with Concordia Saturday. The loss moves BC to 11-10 overall and 8-8 in the GPAC.
 
The Charger offense was cold to start, scoring just four points in the opening six minutes trailing 17-4. BC began to chip away with 9:48 remaining in the first half, going on an 11-2 run to cut the Bulldog lead to four points.
 
Over the next four minutes, the two teams would trade baskets with Concordia holding onto a single digit lead. Seven straight Bulldog points with 1:13 left pushed their lead to 14 points. A pair of free throws by Jaden Kleinhesselink followed by a Freidel trey cut the deficit to nine points, but a Jackson Hirschfeld 3-pointer as time expired gave Concordia a 44-32 at halftime.
 
Neither team jumped out of the gates in the first five minutes of the second half, as Concordia outscored Briar Cliff 11-10 over the stretch. The Bulldogs began to open up their lead at the 14-minute mark, thanks to a 15-3 run over the next six minutes. Concordia cruised over the final eight minutes, holding a double-digit lead throughout.
 
"We did not execute or compete at the level that it takes to win in the GPAC, or the level that is expected within our program," said head coach Mark Svagera.
 
Ethan Freidel scored 12 points for the Cliff in his 20 minutes off the bench, knocking down four 3-pointers. Kleinhesselink added 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Andrew Gibb chipped in nine points on 4-of-6 shooting.
 
After six straight games of hitting over 10 treys, the Chargers went cold Saturday connecting on just 6-of-29 attempts from behind the 3-point line. BC was efficient from the free throw line converting 10-of-11 attempts. The Charger bench outscored the Bulldog bench 28-23 and BC committed less turnovers 6-10.
 
Carter Kent led the Bulldog attack with 24 points on 9-for-14 from the field, including six 3-pointers, and grabbed seven rebounds. Gage Smith tallied a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards.
 
Concordia hit on 55 percent of their shot attempts and 42 percent from the 3-point line. The Bulldogs also held an edge in points in the paint (44-24) and outrebounded BC (39-20).
 
"Down the stretch with four home games we must be prepared and ready to give it everything we have each night out," said Svagera.
 
Briar Cliff will finish out the regular season with a four-game home stand, starting Wednesday as Dakota Wesleyan visits the Newman Flanagan Center for an 8 p.m. tip-off.