The Charger men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker in overtime to the Concordia Bulldogs 86-82 inside the Newman Flanagan Center Saturday night. Wil Lugar scored 23 points, grabbed six boards, recorded three steals, and a block in the effort.
 
"Heckuva battle tonight! I was really proud of how hard our guys played," said Head Coach Mark Svagera. "We had to battle back a couple times to give ourselves a chance, and while we're disappointed there's a lot we can learn from this game."
 
After trading baskets for the first six minutes, the Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run to take a 16-9 lead. The Cliff trailed 18-17, as Tyrus Eischeid buried a triple and earned three points the hard way via an and-one play. Concordia pushed the lead back to four following a three from Zac Kulus. Concordia led 31-30 heading into halftime.
 
In the second, Briar Cliff took the lead after Matthew Stilwill grabbed the defensive board and pushed it to Jamison Helmers who buried the triple from the hash mark. The Bulldogs regained a six-point lead midway through the half following another Kulus three. With 1:51 left, Lugar knocked down a three after a kick-out pass from Stilwill to cut the Concordia lead 65-64. With 42 seconds left, Quinn Vesey buried a triple from the corner off an assist from Blake Sindelar to even the game 67-67.
 
On the other end of the floor, Helmers recorded a steal, and the Chargers brought the ball across half-court and called a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, and isolation play was called for Stilwill. After bleeding out the clock, Stilwill took a three, which hit the front iron. With time left on the clock, Vesey crashed the board and tried to tip the ball back in, but it fell just short.
 
In overtime, Lugar knocked down another three to tie the contest 78-78 with 1:25 left. Concordia's Noah Schutte matched with his own three to give the Bulldogs a 81-78 lead. Lugar the next possession responded with a basket to cut the lead to one. The Bulldogs were able to sink free throws in the final seconds, and came away with a 86-82 victory.
 
Sindelar scored 18 points and grabbed four rebounds, while Vesey and Helmers both chipped in 12 points. Garrett Trapp in a reserve role provided a spark on defense, recording two crucial steals and scored four points.
 
The Chargers move to 9-4 (3-3 GPAC) and will be on break next week. They will return to action December 18 for a matchup against Bellevue in Bellevue, Nebraska. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.