Slow Start Costs Concordia High School Boys Basketball at Sacred Heart
The Concordia High School Boys Basketball team fell to Sacred Heart 55-39 in Salina on Saturday, February 3rd.
The Panthers struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the first-half, shooting 27 percent from the field. After Senior Guard Payton Breese connected on a three-pointer on the team's first possession, Sacred Heart went on a 15-0 run to grab an early double-digit lead. The Knights led 18-8 at the end of the first quarter and held a 33-15 advantage at the intermission after they shot 54.5 percent from the field, including 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) from inside the arc.
Concordia fought back in the third stanza, opening the period on a 12-2 run to trail 35-27 with just under three minutes remaining. Senior Point Guard Joey Henderson had 7 points during that stretch, while Junior Guard Peyton Retter drilled a three-pointer and Breese had a lay-in. Sacred Heart Senior Guard Max Ehrlich scored the final five points of the quarter putting the Knights up 40-27 entering the fourth.
Sacred Heart went on a 15-8 run to start the fourth, building their lead out to as much as 20 points with under two minutes to play, on their way to the 16 point victory.
Sophomore Guard Will Tuttle led the Knights with 14 points. Ehrlich was also in double-figures with 12 points.
Sacred Heart shot 22-of-44 (50 percent) from the field and made 8-of-9 (88.9 percent) from the foul line.
Concordia was 16-of-45 (35.6 percent) from the floor and finished 2-of-5 (40 percent) from the free-throw line.
Henderson led the team with 15 points, 13 of which came in the second-half.
Breese joined him in double-figures with 10 points. Breese was 4-of-7 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc.
Retter finished with 8 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds. Retter was named our Nex-Tech Wireless MVP of the Game.
Sophomore Chane Parker had 6 points off 3-of-6 shooting and had 4 rebounds. Parker received our H&R Block of the Game.
Senior Center Jonathan Turner did not score but led the rebounding effort with 9 boards.
The Panthers have dropped four of their last five games and will conclude a nine-game road swing on Tuesday, February 6th when they head to Abilene for a North Central Kansas League showdown with the Abilene Cowboys. Abilene, 12-2 overall and 5-0 in NCKL action, beat Concordia on December 15th, 54-50. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm. Live coverage of the game can be heard on 1390 KNCK, 98.3 FM and NCKToday.com.