Concordia High School Boys Basketball Team Goes 1-2 in 54th Annual Adolph Rupp Invitational, Places 4th

The Concordia High School Boys Basketball team captured a 4th place finish in the 54th Annual Adolph Rupp Invitational Tournament in Halstead, Kansas.

The Panthers recorded a 72-61 win over the Halstead Dragons in their opening round game on Thursday, January 19th.  Concordia had four double-figure scorers, led by Senior Guard Payton Breese with 22 points.  Breese, our Nex-Tech Wireless MVP of the Game, connected on 7-of-14 from the floor.  Senior Guard Joey Henderson turned in 14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.  Sophomore Chane Parker, in his first game back since December 12th after suffering a foot injury against Marysville, went for 12 points off 6-of-8 shooting and 6 rebounds, receiving our H&R Block of the Game.  Junior Guard Peyton Retter went 6-of-10 from the floor, including 2-of-4 from long-range, to finish with 10 points.  Senior Center Jonathan Turner just missed out on a double-figure night, posting 9 points and 4 rebounds.  Senior Guard Lewis VanMeter ended up with 5 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

The Panthers fell to the Cheney Cardinals, 47-43, in their semifinal game on Friday, January 20th.  Concordia was held scoreless for nearly eight minutes to start the game and found themselves behind by 15 points in the first-half.  The Panthers fought back in the second-half, tying the game on a three-pointer by Breese at the end of the third quarter, 33-33.  The Panthers captured their only lead of the game on a basket by Henderson to start the fourth, before enduring another long scoring drought of over six minutes in the final period.

Three Panthers combined to score 38 of the team's 43 points.  Henderson finished with a game-high 17 points and 5 rebounds, receiving our Nex-Tech Wireless MVP of the Game recognition.  Breese added 12 points and 3 rebounds, while Retter finished with 9 points and 4 rebounds.

Concordia fell 53-51 in overtime to Haven in the third place game on Saturday, January 20th.  The game featured ten lead changes and three ties.  A five-minute scoring drought in the second quarter resulted in the Panthers trailing by five points, 28-23, at the intermission.  Haven opened the second-half on a 13-3 run to lead 41-26 midway through the third quarter.  Concordia kept fighting, ending the third frame on an 11-3 run to cut Haven's lead down to seven, 44-37, entering the fourth.  Concordia went ahead for the first-time in the second-half with just over six minutes remaining.  Haven tied the game up at 49-all, forcing overtime.  The Panthers were limited to just two points in the extra period, suffering a two-point loss.

Breese led Concordia with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.  Breese, our Nex-Tech Wireless MVP of the Game, was named to the All-Tournament Team and the tournament's All-Academic Team.

Henderson had 13 points, receiving our H&R Block of the Game.  Henderson was also selected to the All-Tournament Team.

Retter put together his second double-digit scoring effort of the tournament, posting 12 points.  Turner and Junior Luke Donovan each finished with 4 points, while VanMeter had 2 points off the bench.

The Panthers are 6-4 overall and will enjoy a nine day break before traveling to Clifton-Clyde for a non-league contest on Tuesday, January 30th.  Live coverage of the game can be heard on 1390 KNCK, 98.3 FM and NCKToday.com.