Concordia Boys Basketball Team Digs Too Deep of a Hole in Home League Loss to Abilene

An early 16-point deficit proved insurmountable in the Concordia High School Boys Basketball team's 66-47 home loss to the Abilene Cowboys in North Central Kansas League play on Friday, December 16th.

The Panthers trailed 20-4 in the first quarter after five Cowboys scored in the opening frame, including five made shots from behind the arc.  Concordia eventually found a rhythm, outscoring Abilene 13-6 to start the second period to trail by just seven points, 29-22, with just under four minutes to play before the halftime break.  But Abilene answered with a 10-2 run to close out the first half, taking a 15 point lead at 39-24 into the locker room.

The Cowboys used the momentum of the first half to go up by as many as 20 in the second half.  Concordia struggled to keep pace offensively and was unable to cut the lead back to single digits, suffering their second consecutive loss in North Central Kansas League play.

Abilene shot 9-of-18 (50.0%) from long range, while defensively they forced the Panthers into 17 turnovers on the night.

Senior Grant Waite and Junior Keaton Hargrave led Abilene with 15 points each.  Junior Stocton Timbrook finished with 14 points, while Senior Cameron Vinduska chipped in 10 points.

Senior Alan Garcia led Concordia in the loss.  Garcia had 13 points off 5-of-7 from the field and 4 rebounds, receiving our H&R Block of the Game.  Junior Jonathan Turner scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.  He was named our Nex-Tech Wireless MVP of the Game.  Senior Aceyn Cash had 10 points, while Junior Peyton Retter added 8 points.

Sitting at 3-2 overall and 0-2 in league play, Concordia's next matchup is on Tuesday, December 20th at Clay Center.  The Tigers played state-ranked Wamego on Friday, falling on the road by a final score of 76-46.  Live coverage of Tuesday's game can be heard on 1390 KNCK, 98.3 FM and NCKToday.com.

Listen to audio highlights from Concordia's 66-47 home loss to Abilene: