Concordia Boys Defeated in Overtime by Rose Hill, 52-46

In their first year in the 53rd Annual Adolph Rupp Invitational Basketball Tournament, the Concordia High School Boys Basketball team picked up a fourth place finish after falling to the Rose Hill Rockets, 52-46 in overtime, on Saturday, January 21st.

It was the first overtime game for Concordia since dropping a four overtime thriller to Wamego on February 19, 2021, 84-78.

The Panthers started the first quarter on fire, jumping out to a 14-5 lead over Rose Hill following the third made three of the opening period by Sophomore Guard Peyton Retter.  The Rockets were able to cut the Panthers lead to 14-7 at the start of the second period.

A jumper by Senior Wing Aceyn Cash put Concordia ahead by nine points at 19-10 with 6 minutes remaining in the first half.  Rose Hill continued to chip away at the Panthers lead, pulling to within three at 27-24 at the intermission.

The Rockets took its first lead of the ballgame at 28-27 early in the third frame on a basket by Junior Forward Jace Evans.  The Panthers, meanwhile, struggled to score in the third quarter.  Concordia was held to one field goal, a lay-in by Junior Guard Joey Henderson, for the first 6 minutes and 27 seconds of the third period.  Rose Hill outscored Concordia 12-5 in the quarter to take a 36-32 lead into the fourth.

The game went back-and-forth in the final quarter of play, with four lead changes and two ties.  A three-pointer by Junior Payton Breese, one of two made threes in the fourth period for the guard, gave Concordia a 46-44 advantage with 2:07 left in regulation.  That would be the final points scored in the game by the Panthers.

Rose Hill Senior Kellan Simoneau connected on two free-throws with 1:10 to play to tie the game at 46.

Both teams missed on the front end of one-and-one opportunities at the free-throw line in the final 40 seconds.  Concordia was not able to get a shot off with 1.2 seconds on the clock and the game went into overtime.

The Panthers failed to score in the overtime period, going 0-of-3 from the field, as the Rockets took the 52-46 victory.

Concordia was led in the loss by Cash who had 12 points.  Cash averaged 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists per game in the tournament and was selected to the All-Tournament Team.

Retter also finished the game with 12 points.  Senior Alan Garcia fouled out after scoring 8 points.

Breese and Henderson were named to the tournament's All-Academic Team.

Now the Panthers will look to regroup over a nine-day layoff before returning to action on January 31st with a home game against Clifton-Clyde.