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 game-high 24 points on a record-setting Jan. 8 as the Bulldogs blew out rival Doane, 81-60.
The Laurel-Concord-Coleridge High School alum amassed 24 points and 10 rebounds while making 10-of-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.
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.”
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, Nebraska 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. Noah doesn’t typically show a lot of emotion, but this was something a little bit different.
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.
Schutte is a 2020 graduate of Laurel-Concord-Coleridge School and the son of John and Stacie Schutte.
