Senior Justin Vandenberg scored a game-high 18 points on 7-11 shooting, but it wasn't enough for Concordia-St. Paul (12-6, 3-3 NSIC) to come back from a 46-32 halftime deficit as they fell on the road at Northern State (13-4, 5-1 NSIC) 90-74.
Concordia outscored Northern State 19-2 on second chance points, holding a 21-2 edge in offensive rebounds, but the Wolves didn't need rebounding on a day when they couldn't miss.
The Golden Bears could not stop Northern State, who hit 68.8 percent from the field (33-48) and a scorching 78.6 percent from three-point territory (11-14), while CSP shot just 39.7 percent from the field (29-73) and 33.3 percent from long range (8-24).
Aside from Vandenberg, three other players scored in double figures for CSP, as sophomore Kyle Marxhausen and senior Brian Jamros each had 13. Junior Kenneth Pointer added 11 off the bench. Marxhausen and sophomore Aaron Ackerson each pulled down seven rebounds, while Pointer had a team-high five assists.
The Bears have now lost two games in a row for the first time this season and fall into a fourth-place tie with Wayne State in the NSIC standings, while the Wolves remain tied for the league lead and have won eight of their past nine outings.
