LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Concordia-St. Paul (1-1) picked up its first victory of the 2014-15 season and the first win for head coach Joey James on Saturday afternoon, defeating Lindenwood University (0-2) 62-59 at Doolittle Community Center.

Concordia returns to the floor on Wednesday, November 19 for a 7 p.m. tip in the home opener against Crossroads College.

It was a solid team victory for the Golden Bears, who held Lindenwood to 39.2% (20-51) shooting while hitting at a 50.0% (25-50) on the offensive end.

For the second consecutive game, Concordia dominated down low with a 34-26 rebounding margin and a 34-18 edge in the paint. Junior Mike Yahnke and redshirt freshman Nuni Omot were the go-to posts as Yahnke scored 10 points on 5-8 shooting and Omot had eight points and seven rebounds off the bench.

Yahnke hit the go-ahead jumper with just over a minute left and extended the lead to three points with 14 seconds to play.

Three players scored in double figures for Concordia led by junior Cole Olstad with 14 points and six rebounds. He shot 5-9 from the floor and 4-4 from the foul line. Senior Keith Crockett added 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists while shooting 5-7 from the field and 2-2 from three-point range. He also collected three steals on the defensive end in a solid all-around effort.

Concordia's starters were efficient today, hitting 57.6% (19-33) of their shots as a group. The bench was also productive with 17 points compared to nine for Lindenwood's reserves.

Lindwood was led by Cory Arentsen with 21 points on 7-12 shooting including 4-7 three-point shooting.

It was a tight game with the largest lead for either side being Concordia's seven point advantage, 27-20 with 4:31 to play in the first half. Concordia led for nearly the entire first half before a 7-0 Lindenwood run tied the game at 27 with 1:53 to play until the break.

Although Lindenwood took its first lead moments later at 30-29, the score was knotted at 30 into the break.

The game would go on to feature a total of nine ties and six lead changes although Concordia led for 29:11 of the 40 minutes of play, with Lindenwood leading for 6:37 with 4:08 of play at a tie score.

Although Lindenwood would clock over six and a half minutes with the lead, Concordia never trailed by more than three points and neither team led by more than three the entire second half.

The game went back-and-forth for much of the second half but Terez VanPelt found an open Yahnke for a jumper with 1:11 to play to give Concordia a 60-58 lead. The Lions made the first but missed the second free throw and Olstad rebounded with 47 seconds to play with Yahnke making a layup with 14 seconds left.

Lindenwood missed a game tying three-pointer with three seconds to play with Crockett rebounding to seal the win.