The narrative on Schreiner University men's basketball is pretty straightforward — every game is tight. On Saturday, the Mountaineers couldn't overcome a poor first shooting half and fell at Concordia of Texas, 99-93, in Austin.
Concordia held a 14-point halftime lead and survived Schreiner's second-half rally when the Mountaineers outscored Concordia 54-46. Four of Schreiner's seven games were decided by less than 10 points — something that's become a norm for the Mountaineers.
After four consecutive games where he scored 20 points or more, Concordia held Schreiner guard Alex Dehoyos to three points — a season-low.
The Mountaineers got a marvelous performance from junior transfer Darian Gibson, who scored a game-high 22 points. Gibson's attacking style drew fouls, putting him on the free-throw line 18 times, where he scored 16 points. With 2:40 left in the game, Gibson drove and converted a layup, drawing a foul by Concordia's Tige Johnson.
Gibson converted on the free throw, tying the game at 87-87. However, that is as close as the Mountaineers would get. Concordia outscored Schreiner 12-6 in the final two minutes.
After shooting 32% in the first half, Schreiner recovered in the second half by shooting 54%. Kamden Ross scored 12 points and had 11 rebounds, while Jalen Ned added 16 points for the Mountaineers.
At 2-5, the Mountaineers face exhibition games on Monday at Division I Abilene Christian and on Thursday at Sam Houston. The Mountaineers return home on Saturday for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference opener against Trinity.
After the Trinity matchup, Schreiner plays its next six games on the road, including two games in Spokane, Wash.
