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MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/30/10)-- On Wednesday Concordia scored 48 points and won. On Saturday the Cobbers tried to tempt fate for the second straight game but fell two points short and lost 50-48 to Bethel in Moorhead. The loss ends Concordia's seven-game winning streak and drops them out of a tie for first place in the conference standings. The Cobbers are now 13-5/12-3 MIAC and tied with St. Ben's for second place in the standings.

The story of the game for Concordia against the Royals was their inability to connect on shots from outside the 3-point arc, their lack of scoring punch in the second half and the unbelievably low number of fouls called in the final period.

The Cobbers were just 1-for-14 (7.1%) from 3-point range for the game. That is the lowest 3-point field goal percentage in a game for CC since the 2000-01 season when they went 1-for-17 (5.9%) against St. Thomas. What makes the statistics even tougher to swallow is the fact that Concordia was playing on their home court.

Concordia scored only 19 points in the second half as they 9-for-30 (30.0%) from the floor and 1-for-10 from long range. In the final 20 minutes of play the Cobbers had had a stretch of six minutes where they did not connect on a field goal. That was followed by a four-minute stretch where they did not score from the floor.

The game featured only 15 total personal fouls for both teams. Bethel was not whistled for a foul for the entire second half. The "let 'em play" attitude by the referees led to only 11 combined free throws. Concordia was 5-for-6 from the line while BU was 4-for-5.

Bethel (8-10, 7-8 MIAC), who knocks off an MIAC leading opponent for the second straight game, shot 39.6% (21-for-53) from the floor and 44.4% (4-for-9) from behind the arc. The Royals were 0-for-4 from 3-point land in the first half but then went 4-for-6 in the second to earn the game-deciding stat edge.

The game's deciding stretch of play came five minutes into the second half. After Concordia had taken a 10-point lead at 37-27, the Royals went on 12-0 run to take a 39-37 lead with 10:16 to play. The Cobbers grabbed the 10-point lead with 15:46 remaining in the game but would then only score 11 more points for the rest of the game.

Despite their lack of scoring in the second half, Concordia had a chance to beat Bethel in the final two minutes of play. With the score tied at 46-46, the Royals connected on a jumper by Taylor Sheley. The Cobbers then missed on three straight field goals on their very next possession and allowed BU to score the game-winning field goal with :52 seconds to play. CC had a chance to tie the game in the final :10 seconds but Tricia Sorensen's jumper from the left side of the key, rattled off the rim and would not fall.

Erica Nord had 15 points, six assists and five rebounds to lead CC. Lindsey Schultz added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Anna Matetich had seven points and six rebounds and those three were the only CC players with more than four points in the game.

Scotti Moats recorded her third double-double of the season for Bethel as she scored a game-high 16 points and hauled down 11 rebounds. Sheley finished with 12 points and three assists.

Concordia will now race through a Monday-Wednesday-Saturday game week. The Cobbers will play at Hamline on Monday before returning home to host Augsburg on Wednesday.