The Golden Bears suffered their first loss of the season, 45-20, Saturday evening at Minnesota State, Mankato. The Bears ended their non-conference schedule with a 3-1 record and will head into NSIC play next Saturday at Bemidji State.
The mavericks were able to dominate the running game on offense and defense, not allowing Concordia to establish a consistent offense. MSU had two running backs eclipse 100 yards. Sean Treasure rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, and Cory Jones had 20 carries for 130 yards and one score. The Bears rushing attack was led by quarterback
James McNear, who scampered for 107 yards on 11 attempts. But the CSP running backs were limited to 61 yards on 22 carries.
Through the air, MSU was able to hit the home run, as receiver Michael Lawrence had two receptions for two touchdowns for 104 yards, including a 63-yarder in the third quarter that put MSU ahead 31-7. The Bears had a solid passing attack, but MSU was able to contain them from breaking free for big plays. McNear ended up with 158 yards and a touchdown, completing 13 of 26. McNear, who went down with an injury in the third quarter, was replaced by
Nate Harrington,
who completed six of seven passes for 82 yards.
Receiver
Wesley Hill had eight receptions for 128 yards, and
Montez Bridgeforth had nine catches for 87 yards and a touchdown for the Bears. Running back
Brian Holmes had two goal-line rushing touchdowns to round out the scoring for Concordia.
The bears faced a 24-0 halftime deficit that proved too much to overcome. On the game, the Bears outgained the mavericks 261-158 through the air but were dominated on the ground, 337-168. CSP had 415 yards of total offense to MSU's 484.
