2003-04 Concordia Men's Basketball Box Scores and Game Summaries

2003-04 Men's Basketball MIAC Postseason Award Teams

Four Cobbers Earn MIAC Postseason Awards

Josh Downey
Sr.
Bigfork, Mont.
Led Concordia in scoring in 2003-04.

Soren Nelson
Jr.
Twin Valley, Minn.
Scored in double figures in 21 of the team's 26 games.

Nate Ohme
Sr.
Bloomington, Minn.
Was named to the MIAC All-Defensive Team.

Joe Bueckers
Sr.
Pine River, Minn.
Led the MIAC in free throw percentage and was 2nd in assist/turnover ratio.

(ST. PAUL)--- Four Concordia men's basketball players earned MIAC postseason honors as announced by the MIAC office on Thursday. Josh Downey (Sr., Bigfork, Mont.) and Soren Nelson (Jr., Twin Valley, Minn./Norman County East HS) were named to the MIAC All-Conference Team, while Nate Ohme (Sr., Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) was placed on the MIAC All-Defensive Team and Joe Bueckers (Sr., Pine River, Minn./Pine River-Backus HS) was named to MIAC All-Conference Honorable Mention Team. It is the first time in all four players' careers that they have earned postseason honors.

The quartet of award winners helped the Cobbers to their best season since the 1995-96 campaign. Concordia finished the season with an 18-8 overall mark and a 14-6 record in the MIAC. The team finished third in the MIAC regular season, and defeated St. Thomas in the first round of the conference playoffs before losing to Macalester in the league semifinals.

Downey was the team's leading scorer in 2003-04. He finished the season with a 15.1 points per game average, which placed him 12th in the conference in scoring. The team’s outside shooting threat, he finished fourth in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (51.1%) and fourth in 3-point baskets made (45). Downey scored in double figures in 21 of the team’s 26 games. He scored a career-high 32 points in the Cobbers’ game against Hamline on February 14.

Downey was named the MIAC Player of the Week for his three-game performance against Bethel, St. Thomas and Carleton late in the season. In those three games he averaged 18.6 points per game, shot 60.0% from the field and 64.7% from 3-point.

Downey finishes his two-year career at Concordia by averaging 13.84 points per game.

Nelson led the team in scoring for most of the season. He finished second at the end of the year with a 14.3 points per game average. He was 13th in the conference in scoring in league games. He also finished 12th in the MIAC in rebounding (5.4 rpg), 11th in free throw percentage (79.5%) and sixth in blocked shots (20).

He was part of the Cobber inside game that finished the year by being ranked in the 14th in the nation in field goal percentage. As an offensive unit, the Cobbers averaged 71.6 points per game, which was third best in the league. They improved their scoring totals by over three points per game.

Nelson had a season-high game of 29 points in the team’s first game of the season against Mayville State. Like Downey, Nelson scored in double figures in 21 of Concordia’s 26 games. In his first three seasons in maroon and gold, he has totaled 683 points and is on pace to become the ninth player in men’s basketball history to break the 1000-point barrier.

Ohme was the unsung hero of the Cobbers this season. He was assigned to guard the best player on the opposing team, and was in charge of “quarterbacking” the team from the floor. He helped Concordia limit MIAC foes to just 65.1 points per game – fifth best in the conference. Led by Ohme, the team’s perimeter defense was ranked third in the MIAC in opposing team’s 3-point field goal percentage (36.0%).

Under the leadership of Ohme, the team posted the most wins in a season since the 1995-96 season. They improved six full games in conference play and made the MIAC playoffs for the first time since the 2000-01 season.

Ohme was finished 11th in the MIAC in steals (32). Offensively, he committed only 53 turnovers in 20 league games, and was seventh in the MIAC in assist-to-turnover ratio. He finished his career with 156 assists and 64 steals.

Bueckers is the final member of the team to be recognized for his outstanding play during the season. He was the team’s point guard and finished third in the MIAC in assists (73). He was also second in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Buecker’s area of excellence in 2003-04 was at the free throw line. He led the conference in free throw percentage (95.2%) and was second in the nation in that category. He was the catalyst behind the Cobbers, who as a team, broke the school record for highest free throw percentage in a season (76.7%). The team finished first in the league in free throw percentage and ninth in the nation. Concordia also set a conference record for most consecutive free throws without a miss in a single game when they went 25-for-25 against Bethel on February 2.

Bueckers finishes his career as a Cobber with a school record for highest free throw percentage in a career. He made 89.2% of his foul shots, which eclipsed the old mark of 84.9% held by Kris Gulsvig from 1974-77. He also finished with 195 assists and only 122 turnovers in 50 games at the point for Concordia.

2003-04 MIAC All-Conference Awards

2003-04 MIAC All-Conference Team
Name                    School       Yr    Pos.       Hometown
Neal Anderson      St. Thomas Jr. Guard    Eden Prairie, Minn.
Chris Assel        Macalester Sr. Guard    Eagan, Minn.
Tim Brown          Gustavus    Sr. Guard    Bloomington, Minn.
Josh Downey        Concordia   Sr. Guard    Bigfork, Mont.
Doug Espenson      Gustavus    Jr. Forward Mankato, Minn.
Tim Gilbert        Bethel      Jr. Guard    Plymouth, Minn.
Josh Hanson        Hamline     Sr. G/F      St. Cloud, Minn.
Paul Henrichs      St. John's So. Guard    Stetsonville, Wis.
Erik Jackson       Macalester Jr. Guard    Evergreen, Colo.
John Jacobs        Bethel      Sr. Post     Wells, Minn.
Travis Jones       Bethel      Jr. Forward Willmar, Minn.
Soren Nelson       Concordia   Jr. Forward Twin Valley, Minn.
Tanner Schieck     Carleton    Sr. Forward Austin, Minn.
Chris TeBrake      Gustavus    Sr. Guard    St. Peter, Minn.
Ben Van Thorre     Macalester Sr. Forward Minneapolis, Minn.

Player of the Year
Ben Van Thorre Macalester

Sixth Man of the Year
Doug Espenson Gustavus

Coach of the Year
Mark Hanson Gustavus

All-Defensive Team
Name                    School       Yr    Pos.       Hometown
Doug Espenson      Gustavus    Jr. Forward Mankato, Minn.
Travis Jones       Bethel      Jr. Forward Willmar, Minn.
Eric Nelson        Gustavus    Sr. Guard    Mendota Heights, Minn.
Nate Ohme          Concordia   Sr. Guard    Bloomington, Minn.
Tanner Schieck     Carleton    Sr. Forward Austin, Minn.

All-First Year Team
Name                    School      Yr     Pos.       Hometown
Matt Ohme          St. John's Fy. Guard    Bloomington, Minn.
Phil Sowden        Gustavus    Fy. Post     Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Jon Butala         St. Olaf    Fy. Guard    West St. Paul, Minn.
Jimmy Wadja        St. Mary's Fy. Guard    Minneapolis, Minn.
Jake Phillips      Carleton    Fy. Guard    Brainerd, Minn.

2003-04 MIAC All-Conference Honorable Mention Team
Name                         School
Kyle Beste            Carleton
Joe Bueckers          Concordia
Jon Butala            St. Olaf
Dan Forkrud           Carleton
Eric Nelson           Gustavus
Lucas Olson-Patterson Augsburg
Nick Schader          St. Thomas
Matt Schlenker        St. Olaf
Jeff Tendall          St. Mary's

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