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CRETE, Neb. – No one in the history of Concordia University, Nebraska men’s basketball has scored more points than the All-American Noah Schutte.
The understated Schutte made noise on the court with a gamehigh 24 points on a record-setting Wednesday (Jan. 8) as the Bulldogs blew out rival Doane, 81-60.
Schutte, a Laurel native who led the Bears to a state title in high school, and fellow star Tristan Smith had a field day against the Tiger zone and led an offensive attack that shot 55.8 percent from the floor.
Head Coach Ben Limback’s surging squad has won six-straight within conference play and has triumphed in eight of its past nine outings. Concordia moved to 12-4 overall (7-3 GPAC).
“It’s a good win.
Obviously, they just had a big win on Saturday, and it’s a tough place to play,” Limback said. “They guard and they’re gritty. It got a little bit chippy here, but it’s a competitive battle and we knew it would be that way. I was pleased with our ability to sustain runs and keep the lead where it was in the second half. Noah Schutte had a big start to the game. We talked about the big scoring accolade, but we needed it right out of the gate, and I think that eased everybody’s nerves.”
At the same venue where 14thranked Morningside fell victim to the upset four days earlier, the Bulldogs rolled behind another stellar effort from Schutte. The Laurel-Concord-Coleridge High School alum amassed 24 points and 10 rebounds while making 10of-14 shots from the floor. Schutte moved past the legendary Jon Ziegler (2,099 career points) for No. 1 on the school’s all-time scoring list when he drove to the rack and kissed the ball off the glass at the 13:48 mark of the second half.
That bucket pushed the Concordia lead to 57-41 at the time and inspired an uproar from Schutte’s teammates and the strong contingent of family members and Bulldog fans who made the short road trip. By night’s end, Schutte’s career point total stood at 2,105.
Schutte reached that number while playing in the 131st game of his college career.
Said Schutte in response to breaking the scoring record, “I was more focused on getting the win.
Doane’s a gritty team. There was a lot of game left when I reached that milestone. After the game, my teammates and coaches embraced me and congratulated me in the locker room. I got a little emotional celebrating with them.”
Schutte and Smith teamed up to get the Bulldogs out of the gates quickly on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs never trailed for a single second and built a cozy 40-25 halftime lead that was propped up by a Smith jumper just before the buzzer. Smith finished his evening with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Coming off an eight-trey outing in the demolition of previously undefeated Dordt, Brad Bennett helped grow the lead in the second half by knocking down a trio of 3-point field goals. Jaxon Stueve also reached double figures with 10 points and Hayden Frank added six.
With the game already decided in the second half, things got heated with Doane (8-9, 3-6 GPAC) being whistled for three technical fouls (and one on the Bulldogs).
It merely delayed the inevitable.
Concordia dominated by scoring in the paint and by out rebounding the Tigers, 39-24, allowing it to easily overcome its 18 turnovers.
On the other side of the court, Doane shot only 37.5 percent while getting 23 points from standout guard Brady Timm.
Concordia has won six in a row and nine of the past 10 in the series with Doane. The latest installment of the rivalry will be remembered as the night Schutte became the program’s all-time leading scorer.
He did so with Ziegler in attendance. Schutte and Ziegler had the opportunity to meet after the game.
“He does his thing, and he just wanted to beat Doane. I know there was some pressure, but he handled it like a champ,” Coach Limback said of Schutte, While carrying himself with the same quiet confidence and unassuming nature that Noah Schutte entered college with in the fall of 2020, the Laurel-Concord Coleridge High School product took his perch at the top of the list of most prolific scorers in Concordia University men’s basketball history.
Fittingly, Schutte rose to No. 1 with a highly contested bucket in the paint as part of the Jan. 8 victory at Doane.
Representative of his career as a whole, Schutte made 10-of-14 shots from the floor and posted 24 points and 10 rebounds in another beastly outing.
Seemingly embarrassed by the attention, Noah couldn’t avoid it afterwards.
The man he passed for the title of all-time scoring king, Jon Ziegler, embraced Noah with a hug and then a few minutes of conversion. The meeting between two legends occurred during a postgame on-court gathering that saw Noah wade through congratulatory teammates and family members and pose for photos with a sign that commemorated the achievement.
Moments before Noah emerged from a victorious visiting locker room, the reaction from his teammates got to him.
He doesn’t typically show a lot of emotion, but this was something a little bit different. Said Noah, “I was more focused on getting the win. Doane’s a gritty team.
There was a lot of game left when I reached that milestone. After the game, my teammates and coaches embraced me and congratulated me in the locker room. I got a little emotional celebrating with them.”
Ziegler showed nothing but graciousness. He had no obligation to be there, but it was important to him. Wrote Ziegler in a Facebook post, “Congrats to Noah. Was great to catch up with him and his wonderful family after the game last night. He’s an amazing player on the basketball floor and an even better person off it. Taking (my son) Mauer with to watch him break the record last night was something I will forever cherish. ‘Dad, Noah is an absolute beast out there.’” Mauer knows the ball. The strong performance by Noah at Doane was simply another addition to the lengthy list of memorable moments the small-town farm boy has produced throughout his time as a Bulldog.
Noah Schutte
