MOORHEAD, Minn. - The Minnesota Morris men's basketball team began their 2017-18 season on the road Wednesday for a non-conference matchup against Concordia (Minn.). The Cougars took a lead into the second half, but were not able to hang on and dropped an 80-71 decision to the Cobbers.

Minnesota Morris fell behind 14-7 early on before going on a big 15-0 run to take an 8-point lead. James Pendleton started the scoring surge with his first collegiate 3. CD Douglas gave the Cougars the lead on a jumper. Jeffrey Halverson added a 3 and Noah Grove ended the spurt with a lay-in following a Jeremy Halverson steal that made it 22-14. Concordia countered with a 10-2 run to tie it at 24. It remained tied until the final seconds of the half. Jeffrey Halverson rebounded a Concordia missed shot, made an outlet pass to Pendleton who heaved a shot two steps from behind the half court line and swished it as time expired to give the Cougars a 34-31 lead at halftime.

The Cobbers scored 10 of the first 12 points of the second half to gain a 41-36 edge. They would continue to build on that momentum to build a double-digit for a 10-minute stretch. The Cougars would cut it to as low as 7 in the final minute, but the Cobbers would record the home victory.

Douglas led all scorers with 20 points. Grove reached double figures with 11. Jeremy Halverson added seven points and seven rebounds.

Minnesota Morris (0-1) has their home opener on deck as they entertain Augsburg Saturday at 3 p.m. at the PE Center.