Wilmington, DE – The Concordia College Clippers men's basketball team battled Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) South Division opponent Goldey-Beacom College Saturday afternoon on the road. The Clippers were unable to erase a 20 point second half deficit as they were defeated by the Lightning, 82-76.
Concordia began the game unable to score from the floor as it took three minutes to make a field goal. This allowed Golde-Beacom to open up a lead as the eventually took a 10 point lead five and a half minutes into the period. The Clippers continued to struggle offensively as their 10th point did not get scored until the 8:53 mark. This sparked a run by Concordia with Argelix Gil (Brooklyn, NY) scoring nine of the Clippers' next 12 points in a span of a minute and a half.
The Lighting got their lead back to double digits as the half was drawing to a close. A jump shot by Brandon Whitaker (Harlem, NY) with nine seconds left brought the deficit to nine points as Goldey-Beacom went into the locker room with a 42-33 lead.
The Lighting began the second half scoring 11 straight points to take a 20 point lead, their largest of the game. Concordia slowly chipped away and got within single digits at the 8:56 mark. A three-point play by Gil got the Clippers within two points of tying the lead with 1:33 remaining as their comeback looked to be complete.
With less than a minute to play, Concordia still trailed by two points as they held the ball. A turnover with 35 seconds remaining forced the Clippers to foul and send Goldey-Beacom to the foul line. The Lighting hit both free throws to take a four point lead as Concordia still had time left on the clock. A missed shot forced the Clippers to foul again as Goldey-Beacom hit both free throws to secure their 13th conference win of the season.
Whitaker led the Clippers with a game-high 23 points and seven assists in 35 minutes of action. Gil added 20 points and a team-high eight rebounds while Norman Pope (Washington, D.C.) chipped in with 10 points. As a team, Concordia shot 37.0% (27-of-73) from the field as their bench was outscored 46-21.
The Clippers (11-14, 8-9 CACC) will play in their last regular season game on Tuesday evening. Concordia will host Bloomfield College at 7pm following the women's game in the Meyer Athletic Center. A win for the Clippers will secure a playoff spot for the first time since joining the CACC.